


50 Shades Between Black and White

by Ace_Risk, La_perlas_mermaid



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25287247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Risk/pseuds/Ace_Risk, https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_perlas_mermaid/pseuds/La_perlas_mermaid
Summary: ”I have a very... particular interest that I like to perform in private. Tell me panda, have you ever heard of BDSM?"A crazy mashup between Kung fu panda and 50 shades of grey, a powerfull business mogul takes an unexperienced panda under her wing, while tied on a tight leash
Relationships: Po/Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything so pleaso don't sue

50 Shades Between Black and White

Written by: La Perlas Mermaid & Ace_Risk

Chapter 1  
The Meeting

Her name is Priya, at least that’s how her parents named her when she was born, shortly before dropping her in an orphanage. But to her friends, family and the world at large, she’s called Tigress. It’s almost a sign of status, being the most powerful, rich and influential tiger in all of China and a female at that. It is as if she wasn’t just any tigress, she is THE Tigress, capital letters and all.

But she doesn’t feel like the powerful mogul the world sees her like, in fact she has never felt so powerless before, the large imposing feline can see a storm brewing on the horizon but she can’t see where it’s coming from or what shape it will take. 

And to make things worse, she is the leader, and the course of action. The fate of her subordinates rests on her shoulders and hers alone, regardless of how much her father likes to pretend it’s not. Speaking of which… She has a few calls to make. It’s 2 AM and she knows her team is probably asleep, or partying in a private fancy club, yet she knows that within an hour they will be in the lobby of her apartment ready to follow orders, so she better have a strategy planned by then.

The team knows the drill quite well by now, the reason they had to meet in her place instead of just doing a conference call was because secrecy was of the utmost importance. Corporate spies, hackers and foul play was extremely common and at this scale of business even expected, stock markets can drop in a blink of an eye from rumors alone. So the rest of the “Furious five” as they are called in the business media don’t even complain about being woken up and dragged to the middle of Beijing at this ungodly hour, they know she wouldn’t ask this of them if the situation didn’t call for it.

-”So what’s the problem boss?”- Crane asks while Tigress serves him a large cup of coffee.

-”I don’t exactly know and that’s the problem. What I do know is that this afternoon my father went into an emergency meeting with the chairman himself and hasn’t even gotten out of that meeting yet”-

-”Wait are you talking about Oogway? If this is so important why hasn’t he filled you in on this?”- Said Monkey while holding the entire coffee pot for himself.

-”I do not know”- Her shoulders dropped, after all these years and all her accomplishments she expected to be seen as a valid leader yet her father still treated her like a naive child.

Viper wasted no time in removing the pot from Monkey’s hands, the last time he drank that much coffee he had to be locked up in his office for two days and the entire staff suffered from his childish pranks for the rest of the week. -”This is bad if Oogway himself had to be brought up on this, but what kind of disaster could have caused it? Last time they met like this the crash of 08 happened”-

Mantis hadn’t removed his eyes from his phone, he had been obsessively checking the stock market ever since Tigress called -”ICBC has been selling our stocks as if they’re going out of style but no one else is”-

-”So it’s not a market crash, something’s going to happen to our company, at least it narrows it down”- Tigress said as she drank yet another cup, dismissing the shake in her paws as if they were caused by caffeine and not fear. -”Has anything out of the ordinary been happening? I have not seen any difference in patterns or any complaints from our clients”-

-”Well there is a stolen shipment from Japan, we have alerted the authorities already but they have no clue what happened to it or where it could be, given the MO the cops guess is it might be the work from the Ghorh Gom mafia. Still I already filed the paperwork and the insurance will cover it”- Said Crane as he browsed through the news.

Slumping on the luxurious sofa the feline facepalmed. Slithering closer to her Viper asked gently -”What is it? Do you know what happened?”-

-”No I don’t, I just have a bad feeling, if the Ghorh Gom mafia was to blame then there is a small possibility Tai Lung might be back. The PR debacle that would cause might ruin the company or worse, throw father in jail. No wonder Shifu kept me out of the loop, had I known about any of this I might have to either snitch on him or become an accessory as well”-

-”Wait are you saying your psycho brother isn’t dead?!- Mantis was so outraged he fell inside Monkey’s mug, good thing the coffee was lukewarm or he would have gotten burned.

-”For legal reasons, I’m obliged to say I believed Shifu when he said Tai Lung died after his mental breakdown instead of being shipped away to Europe so he wouldn’t be sentenced to death by our government for multiple charges of homicide. And by no means do I believe my brother joined the Ghorh Gom mafia about ten years ago”-

A deep silence haunted the room, it was merely a theory but if Tigress was right they would face not only shame and bankruptcy but perhaps even criminal charges.

-”What do we do now?”- Asked Viper softly.

-”If I were you I would quit as soon as my theory is confirmed, or you can leave now before everything goes to hell, with your credentials all of you could work wherever you want”-

-”We’re not leaving you, besides none of this is your fault you were just a little cub when it happened”- Said Crane and she could see all four masters agreed with him.

Squaring her shoulders she begins to give orders to her crew, if she managed to save the company perhaps Shifu would finally think of her as a worthy successor instead of a small child, she’s in her late twenties for crying out loud! -”Monkey, I want you to use every contact you have on the media to stop any upcoming news about the mafia, cover this up as much as you can. Viper, I want you to think of a possible PR campaign that might help us in case any of the information does leak out. Crane, contact the legal department, I want a defense strategy as soon as possible. Mantis I want you to buy all the stocks that are being sold, use my public company for it, don’t let them drop in price or we might worry our investors”-

So they begun to plan for a contingency without Shifu’s knowledge, it was the way in the corporate world. Her father keeping his secrets thinking she was oblivious to all of it in hopes of keeping her safe, while she had to make her own plots to keep him from jail.  
…………

The next morning a shy clumsy panda was making his way through the main offices of the Dragon Jade company, he stared in awe at the huge modern facilities, walking and touching everything on his path, from the gigantic windows to the mini waterfall used for decoration in the main hall. A large rhino approached him gently but stared at him with a stern gaze, it was obvious given his cheap suit made with burlap bags all stitched together that he didn’t belong there.

-”Sir unless you have an appointment I suggest you please leave the premises, this is private property”-

-”Oh right”- He said grabbing a paper sheet and shoving it in the rhino’s face -”I have an appointment with Miss Tigress”-

“The vice president? That panda must be delusional” thought the security guard at first but as he read the paper note he could see the stamp of a prestigious culinary school and sure enough, he seemed to have won a direct interview with any CEO of any company. Regaining his composure he told him respectfully -”Please follow me”- then led the panda to the reception desk.

The receptionist did in fact confirm he had an appointment, but sadly Miss Tigress had to cancel every single one of them, yet before the panda could leave she had received a call and signaled the pouting panda not to go just yet. -”Well sir you are in good luck, apparently your appointment will be respected after all, please follow me”-

-”Wow this place is awesome!”- Said Po as he stared at the city of Beijing from the glass panels of the elevator as it reached the higher floors, the receptionist found his childish enthusiasm refreshing.

-”Her office is at the top floor”- Said the cute petite bunny while giggling.

Once they left the elevator Po was greeted with a large opulent reception area, surrounded by the finest pottery and exquisite art.

-”Please wait here Mr. Ping”- Said the bunny as she went to speak with a male goat, probably Miss Tigress’ assistant.

The panda was too busy snooping around the hall to notice the annoyed shouting that came from the vice president’s office as the fierce feline complained she was too busy to take a meeting with a nobody, sadly this meant the unassuming and exceedingly clumsy panda had been left unsupervised.

He had never seen such luxury before, every detail in this room was beautifully crafted, his attention was caught by the fine pottery adorning the room. One of the vases seemed to be depicting an ancient epic battle, he was so entranced by the delicate engravings that he got too close, his fat belly bumped into the marble pedestal holding it and the vase fell, breaking into tiny pieces. In a fit of panic he scrambled to hide the evidence of his misstep and like a small child assumed that if the shards were out of sight nobody would notice, so with speed and agility you could never think would come from his species, he scooped up the porcelain shards and threw them in trash, then as the empty pedestal mocked him he grabbed the heavy thing and hid it below the large couch of the waiting room.

Po was about to run away from that place before he got in jail for breaking what was clearly a priceless object but as the doors of the vice president’s office snapped open and two terrified receptionists scrambled away as they ran for their lives, the fearsome Miss Tigress walked towards him with a determined and angry look in her eyes.

-”It is a pleasure to meet you sir, please come inside my office”- Her words were polite and her voice as smooth as silk yet the looming repressed anger in her posture made it very clear her orders could not be disobeyed without horrible consequences, so the panda just nodded nervously and entered slouching while avoiding eye contact -”I must be honest with you, this is not a good time and your appointment was in fact cancelled, but apparently my associate Miss Viper told the receptionist this meeting should still take place. Do you actually know her?”-

Po had trouble finding his voice so all he could do is shake his head nervously.

Raising her eyebrows and letting out a big sigh the exasperated feline chose to keep composure and carry on with the meeting, she texted Viper as soon as that fat bear was announced into the waiting room but her friend had not responded yet. Tigress trusted her friend’s judgment so she chose to get over with it as fast as physically possible.

-”Well here’s the thing, I have no time with pleasantries so let’s cut to the chase shall we?”- She said as she eyed the paper that brought him there -”It says here you won this appointment by making it in the top place in culinary school, your signature dish actually won an award”- Considering how unassuming that panda looked she was actually impressed with his accomplishments. -”Are you looking to work for us? Perhaps in one of our hotels or any of our restaurant chains?”-

By the strange look on his eyes it was obvious that idea had never crossed his mind, again he shook his head -”Not really. I work in my Dad’s restaurant, it’s our family business I could never leave it”-

Then a sly smile crept on her lips, Po got a glimpse of her fangs as the light reflected off them. He could never understand how someone could be so beautiful yet so threatening at the same time, the stripes on her face were a work of art on their own and the way her silky fur shined in the light of day made him wonder how on earth could she achieve such smooth perfection. Yet he wanted nothing more than get the hell away from those bright reddish gold eyes, she would kill him if she found out about that vase.

-”So you don’t want to work for us, you want to be like us right? You want advise on how to succeed?”- She said crossing her arms over her chest and saw the spark of ambition on his eyes

-”That would be so awesome!!”-

Normally she would give him the jaded and mostly false speech she gave in media interviews, exulting the importance of perseverance and to follow your dreams. But this young shy panda in his tacky suit did manage to amuse her somewhat, he also seemed to be full of a potential perhaps not even he knew he had, so for once she did give him legitimate advice -” If you really want your family business to grow invest in marketing, you already have the goods and the quality if that award is anything to go by, but none of that will get you far if people don’t even know you exist. Also choose your associates wisely, a good business partner might be the difference between success and ruin”-

Po had to snap himself awake from admiring the dangerous predator in front of him and begun to write furiously on his notepad.

-”Now I think that is enough for now, I hope you do well panda, if you ever make it big I’ll look forward to repeat our meeting in different conditions”- gracefully standing up she was about to show him the door when he spoke,

-”Umm actually I asked for this meeting to ask you about something else”-

-”And what would that be?”-

-”I was going to ask about how you won the gold medal in the Legends of Kung Fu tournament back in 2016. You defeated your opponent in less than five moves!”-  
-”What?! Is that why you wanted a meeting with me? To talk about Kung Fu?”-

Po nodded enthusiastically, his big happy eyes shone with excitement.

She couldn’t help laughing about it, it was the most random question she had heard in her whole life. That medal was still proudly hanged in the award cabinet at the entrance of her apartment, one of the many accomplishments she had amassed over the years. Thinking back about it she missed those days, back then things were much more simple, all she had to do was aim for a goal and work hard until she succeeded. Nowadays… Her only goal is to keep herself and her family away from prison.

His heart did flutter when he heard her laugh so spontaneously, suddenly her fangs became less threatening and her piercing eyes now shined with warm emotions, he could even see some sad vulnerability in them.

Checking her watch she guessed she could spare an hour to talk about something other than business and work, after all her training in martial arts had become just a hobby ever since she took a bigger part in the running of the company. Turning around to face him she told him softly with an amused smile -”Sure, let’s talk about Kung fu”-

Ninety minutes later a giddy panda left the luxurious office in the top floor with a happy smile on his face, in his hands he had a stack of papers with all the notes he had taken during the meeting, about three pages were dedicated to business ideas while at least twenty were filled with kung fu moves and other martial arts’ fundamentals.

Shortly after he left Viper entered for her meeting with her boss, apparently Tai Lung was not only stealing shipments but now was also committing more high profile crimes, soon his public appearance and his obvious link to the mafia would be exposed and they needed a way to clear out the company’s involvement with him. She was glad the last meeting had put Tigress in a good mood, the poor feline had been in great need for a distraction even if it was short lived.

-”Well how did it go?”- The sly reptile said cheerful trying to hide her current anxiety about what needed to be discussed

-”It was an unusual meeting, we might even have a prospect for a food franchise in the future, too bad he was more interested in martial arts”- Shaking her head she couldn’t help to smile about how random yet refreshing that last conversation had been -”But tell me why did you insist I didn’t cancel it? It could have easily been rescheduled for a better time”-

-”Well he is exactly your type, shy and unassuming, humble in origins and very naive. Since you don’t get out often I thought you might like a little distraction to unwind from all of this”-

Tigress’ face dropped, yes he was her type but if that poor snake had any idea of why she chose males with those characteristics she wouldn’t have tried to play matchmaker, in fact if Viper new about her friend’s hidden proclivities she might run in horror and call the police on her.

-”Let’s cut to the chase shall we?”- Said the large towering feline in a languid mood, whatever joy she might have felt before had vanished completely -”Have you thought on a contingency plan?”-

Viper nodded, a grim expression on her green eyes -”Yes, but I’m afraid you will not like it”-

…………

Later that day, as night was falling over the city, Po and his dad were taking care of their last customers before they could close the restaurant. Usually the goose would not be shy about kicking them out so they could close at a reasonable time but tonight father and son were in too much of a good mood to care, Po was ecstatic about finally hanging out with his personal hero and Mr Ping was excited at all the solid advise his son had gotten out of the interview. 

-”Imagine Po. With the right marketing we could make our own franchise in less than two years! Oh and what did she say about accounting?”-

-”I said it is always best to keep the numbers clean and manage your assets so you don’t get a nasty unexpected surprise from the IRS, they have a knack for showing up at the worst times possible”- Said the deep silky feminine voice from the other side of the counter

The goose and panda stared in shock at their new customer, in front of them was none other than the vice president of one of china’s largest corporations, even when dressed in casual jeans and a t-shirt she could still reek of wealth and status.

With the owners of the small restaurant paralyzed in shock and the scene quickly becoming awkward she tried to break the silence -”Well I was just curious about the dish you were awarded for so I guessed I could just try it out, besides I was wondering if I could talk to you in private.”-

She was quickly led to the best table of the house, which was the furthest from the bathroom and right next to the window. By her request Mr. Ping left early after getting rid of all the other guests, leaving Po to tend for their VIP client on his own.

As Po finished serving her the special secret ingredient soup that had gotten him his award she ordered him to sit with her. As he did he could tell by the stern expression on her face that this might not be such a friendly visit after all.  
She simply put her cell phone from her pocket onto the table and showed him the security video of her waiting room, clearly showing how he had broken the vase.

-”It’s a priceless object from the Ming dynasty that survived in perfect condition for seven hundred years and you threw it in the trash, after you broke it”-  
She said with a calm collected voice even when her eyes were harsh and as intimidating as a predator could be

If he was even capable of sweating, Po would have been soaked right now. Luckily for him he was quite dry and still quite alive, at least for now if the dangerous glare of those eyes were anything to go by. -”Y-yeah, about that... I was gonna tell you, but I was afraid our interview would have been super awkward and”-

-”Maybe if you had the guts to even admit your mistake instead of making it worse by trying to cover it up I might have been more understanding, but on top of the damage you caused now we have to remove the stains from the trash it got in contact with.”- Tigress spoke like a teacher scolding her favorite student yet she was in fact lying, given how stressed she had been lately and how his meeting had been scheduled in such a bad time she might have thrown him out of the window if she had found out about it right then. But she had a plan and would not let the truth get in the way of it

Po looked around for anything that could possibly help in the situation, but he could see nothing but tables, chairs, and a bunch of scattered posters. He had to think of something to say to ease the tension, finally giving in when his dumb awkward brain refused to do anything other than panic. However he decided to at least be honest about what he had done -”I….Yes. You're right. It was wrong of me to cover it up and pretend it hadn't happened. I really hate to admit it, but I can be really clumsy at times... Or like, all the times. I can't help it! I don't even know why I'm saying this…”- He stammered, mumbling the last part to himself. -”The point is, I'm sorry, I'll accept whatever punishment you have in mind for me”- 

With a half smile she decided not to keep pestering him about it, she had him where she wanted him and for better or worse at least now he was confronting his mistake, it was time for the predator to nail it’s prey  
-”I don't think there is a punishment that could serve of any purpose, fixing that vase would cost you more than you could earn in a lifetime. I will cover the cost. But here is the thing, I will not accuse you to the authorities of destroying a prized relic if you promise to keep one of my secrets as well. I am about to tell you something that is very private, if you ever dare to tell anyone, and I do mean ANYONE of what I'm about to tell you then I can guarantee you two things: One, nobody will believe you and two, you will be faced with criminal charges and you will have to pay for that vase you broke. I can tell you that if you sold your family's shop you would still not manage to cover the cost. Is. That. Clear?”-

Po somehow was more nervous now than before. Using what bravery he had left, he nodded three times in quick succession.  
He gulped, knowing that if this were to go wrong he would be in a substantially larger amount of trouble than he already was.

Taking a deep breath she continued, she new that what was coming next was the most delicate part of her plan so her voice and demeanor changed from the threatening overpowering presence she often used in meetings to a much softer and gentle approach -”I have a very... particular interest that I like to perform in private. Tell me panda, have you ever heard of BDSM?”-

Po was speechless, he had indeed heard of the topic and knew it's meaning. It was an extremely uncomfortable topic that he had heard his high school friends talk about when he was younger. He was notorious among his friend circle for being innocent and easygoing, so this topic was understandably a large taboo for him.  
Regardless, he nodded in confirmation and adopted a more skeptical facial expression.

-”Good that makes things easier. You see I have a proposition for you but before you even hear about it I must make something clear, if you say no there will be no consequences whatsoever, you can go on with your life and pretend this conversation never happened. I demand your silence and that you keep my secret but not that you agree, if you say yes it will be in your terms. Do you understand?”-

-”O-okay... What will that b-be?”- He stammered again.

Her prey looked overly nervous and timid but that was to be expected, now she had to push on further while remaining calm and friendly, or at least as friendly as she could be which wasn’t that much, so he wouldn’t run away -”Well since you have an idea of what BDSM is you might now that it usually involves a dominant partner and a submissive one, I enjoy being dominant. So my proposal is this, if you agree to have a BDSM relationship with me I would gladly help you out on the business front. You have ambitions panda, I saw it in our meeting, and judging by your culinary award you have obviously the necessary skills to make more of yourself than just the owner of a tiny noodle shop. With my help, with my connections, you could have a very lucrative future ahead. But of course everything comes with a price, you would have to take part in my private interest as a submissive”- She paused for a minute as she tasted the soup, it was in fact delicious. Casting a glance at the panda she could see the panic building in his eyes, perhaps her hunt would not go so well as she expected -”Now before you say anything, I recommend that you do some research before making a choice, it is a lie that the dominant partner merely enjoys to make the submissive suffer, in reality you would have complete control on how far our activities go, I merely ask that you keep an open mind about it.”- Her tail swished lazily brushing past his thigh, she saw him blush slightly at the simple motion, well maybe the hunt would be successful after all. When her paw softly and gently caressed his face she could see how his pupils dilated, so with a smoldering expression in her eyes she told him sultry -”I believe that if you open up to the experience you might actually enjoy it very much”-

Po wanted to come up with an answer, but simply put, he couldn't. He was in too much shock at what was unfolding that his jaw lay agape as he contemplated how to respond. -” I-I…”- he stammered unable to force his lips to move and form a coherent word, what was hardest about the situation was realizing whether he was simply having the strangest dream ever, or if the tigress in front of him was actually offering him a shot at a career in return for 'favors'. -”I think I need to wake up…”- He stated with his jaw still hanging open.

Shaking her head she sighed in frustration, she wasn't sure if he could even comprehend her proposal much less accept it. But this was his choice to make, she could do her best to manipulate and bargain to get what she wanted but she could never force him into it, as she saw him stuttering and trembling in genuine fear she gave up on the hunt. Once more she felt like a misunderstood freak because of her proclivities. Still the final word had not been said just yet, perhaps he just needs some time. So almost as an afterthought the heiress gently placed her business card in the front pocket of his cheap suit -”If you agree on my terms feel free to leave a message on that number, if not then burn down the card and you will never hear of me again”-

Tigress then proceeded to leave the shop, leaving Po behind who was still trying to come to terms with everything.

-”Wait!”- He said snapping out of his stupor while running up towards her from behind.

Turning around she asked -”What is it?”-

Po didn't know where he was going with this.  
-”Uh... I'll admit, that was kind of...”- He said trailing off

She crossed her arms over her chest defensively and raised an eyebrow, letting him continue

-”I-I mean... Don't get me wrong, but I'm just not all that used to people being that to the point”- He stammered, trying not to be killed on the spot by the unamused feline.

-” It's the first rule of business, time is money. And the first rule of BDSM is to always be honest about what you want to do, tricking someone into participating without really explaining what could happen to them could be an awful thing to do. And yes perhaps I have been less than diplomatic in my approach, but I do struggle with social interactions outside of my closest circle”- She said now a little embarrassed, maybe she wasn’t such an effective huntress after all.

-” No, it's no problem, it's just that I wasn't really expecting it at all. I mean, I've heard about it from some of my friends, but I never thought you of all people would be into that sort of thing…”-

She took just a little offense on that statement -”Believe it or not, deep down we all are into some "thing". It isn’t up to you to care about why I chose this one in particular, you just have to decide if you will participate or not.”- This panda was actually the first one that has ever been reluctant to her proposals, usually if her looks are not enough to sway their potential subs opinions, her money offers sure were.

Po nervously laughed at her annoyed and slightly hurt expression in her eyes and clutched the back of his head. -”Yeah, I guess it might be because I'm just... Okay, I'll be honest, but the topic kind of makes me a bit nervous and uncomfortable.”-

-”As I said you are the one really in control, the choice to move on is up to you”- She said losing some of her imposing presence, she wasn't towering over him since he had proven to have a mind immune to her control tactics, she merely stood in front of him awkwardly trying to figure out what is that he really wanted. Until now every interaction she had was so much easier, money had been the one thing that mattered the most to the subs, yet he didn't seem to be so blinded by it.

Po took a moment to think, he looked downwards and pondered what his decision would be or if he even knew what his stance on the matter was. On one hand, he knew that saying yes would earn him a better chance at accomplishing something greater in his life, yet on the other hand, he would be subjected to something that truly scared him. Now that he was thinking about it, were he to refuse, he would likely still be in the same predicament as a chef for his father's shop, unhappy with the life he was living and who he was. Eventually he sighed and told her neutrally -”I... Okay. I agree on what you are offering”-

She shook her head and chuckled, it was rare that she laughed so carelessly -”Wow tone down the excitement will you? Do not worry I believe you could find enjoyment out of this, besides you can end this whenever you want, if you really think this is not the right thing for you.”- Then she leaned closer to him and gave him a soft, almost chaste kiss on his fluffy cheeks -”Meet me tomorrow at my apartment, think of it as a date”- She said by waving at him in a flirty motion as she left the shop

Po stared at her, watching each step she took away, somehow being unable to divert his gaze anywhere else other than the sway of the stripes on her back as she sauntered into the streets.


	2. Hard decisions

Chapter 2

Hard Decisions

Five dead workers, five humble workers from the docks were murdered this morning, the seal of the Ghorh Gom mafia plain as day for everyone to see on their corpses splayed all over the Dragon Jade containers. The media and the authorities were all over the crime scene gathering every bit of evidence left behind.

After taking care of the funeral expenses and pensions for the devastated families, Tigress stormed into her conference hall expecting her crew to be ready to take action.

They didn’t even wait for her to ask questions since they knew she already expected them to bring her answers the moment she came before them.

Crane cleared his throat and looked at her sadly, -”I have news on the legal department, they say you would be declared innocent of all charges in any court of law but there is very little hope for Mister Shifu if Tai Lung comes out in public. He would be seen as an accessory for sending him abroad and thus indirectly responsible for the deaths he has caused ever since. We could try to argue he is too elderly to withstand prison so he might be able to carry on his sentence under house arrest instead, after paying a huge bail of course.”

Monkey had a slightly better announcement, -”I couldn’t stop the news from reporting on the deaths, but managed to keep the gossip about the mafia to a minimum. The families of the workers have begged for the media not to make a circus out of their tragedy. All I had to do is make sure they are heard and that the news network honors their wishes.”-

Mantis continued with an uncharacteristic sober expression, -”There has been a mild drop in the value of our stocks in spite of my tinkering, but I talked to the executives of ICBC and so far the markets are expecting before taking drastic actions.”-

-”And what are they expecting exactly?”- Tigress asked defensively, she always distrusted investors when it came to crisis, since they tended to flee as soon as things got unstable. Her team bowed their heads and looked at Viper.

The reptile stretched out taller as she saw her friend in the eyes, -”Sweetie, your father did make a huge mistake. We can all understand why he did it and I’m sure his position of power might guarantee him some clemency from the authorities, but five people died today because Tai Lung was let loose on the world. You never had any fault in this and it’s entirely unfair that you get dragged into their mess, the more you try to cover for your father the more you implicate yourself. Eventually the truth will come out and when it does it will drag the company to the ground. The only way to salvage the company and the over seven thousand jobs it provides is that you come clean out of this so you can later on take over”-

-”Are you suggesting that I just let my father go to jail?”- The feline asked outraged.

Viper shook her head -”Not just that, I want you to denounce your father’s actions so the controversy doesn’t reach you, it will be the only way to keep things afloat, cut all ties with Shifu and start the company from scratch.”-

-”Are you insane?! I will never betray my own father!”- She snarled at the group, they barely flinched, they knew she would react this way.

-”I hate to say it, but you don’t have much of a choice. Thousands of livelihoods depend on you. Besides, as the leader of a multinational corporation you might attain enough wealth and status to help your father. Otherwise if all the assets are frozen he won’t have such a… merciful treatment by the courts and authorities.”- Crane added.

This struck a nerve, and she ordered her team to leave the building as to not do something she would further regret. She shut herself in her office so nobody would see her throw a fit.

Their strategy was awful but so far it was the most sensible one, still she couldn’t betray her own father, could she? The problem was, she might not have a choice in the matter.

After regaining some composure she stormed into her father’s office, ignoring his secretary who objected to her sudden appearance. She could clearly see how tired and disheveled he was after the last few stressful days. The time for secrecy was over, so she told him what her and her team had been working on.

-”Let me get this straight. Are you telling me your team has already planned for you to take over the company after I get exposed for protecting my son?”-

-”Yes father, I know you tried to protect me when you didn’t tell me about Tai Lung so I set them to devise a plan to save you but all they could come up with is this.”-

-”And what are you going to do then?”- He said carefully examining her, the same way he always had when he was testing her knowledge or skills.

-”Father, Tai Lung killed five workers today, who knows how many has he killed before. I cannot let you cover him up anymore. We have to go to the authorities so the police can take care of him, we can afford the best legal defense in china I’m sure you could get a slap on the wrist in court. After all, you didn’t kill anyone.”-

-”And you will take over the company?”- His expression was neutral, unreadable even.

She straightened up, pushing her fear aside and standing up to her father for the first time in her life, -”I have no choice. If your assets get frozen we will not be able to pay for a decent defense. I cannot let this company die… Even if that means I have to turn against you. The investors are already planning to deal with me from now on.”-

Shifu laughed, it was the last reaction she expected from him, -”I like your team! You had better promote them when you take over, but that will not happen now. You cannot be allowed to lead. In fact I am considering removing you from the VP position and sending you away until this is over.”- At her horrified expression he sobered up and continued with a sad look in his eyes -”It isn’t safe to turn to the authorities. The mafia has influence all throughout the district, even in the police department and the judicial system. I would be dead long before a trial were to begin. And if you are in charge as my heiress he might go after you as well, he wants Dragon Jade to be destroyed, and with you being the one to represent it, you would no longer be safe.”- 

He took an envelope from the drawer of his huge mahogany desk and gave it to her -”You have forty eight hours to settle your issues, after that you will take a plane to London and hide until I tell you to come back, not a moment before. Is that clear?”-

She saw a fake passport inside the envelope along with the number of what clearly was a secret bank account from Switzerland. First she was cornered by her own team and now she’s being ordered around by her father, she had never felt so powerless and oppressed in her life.

-”No”- She said bluntly, -”I won’t let you dictate my life anymore. And I sure as hell will not leave you alone if the mafia is after your head.”- She threw the envelope in his direction.

-”This isn’t about what you want. If you are not out of the country in less than forty eight hours I will see to it that you are escorted out. This is not a request Priya, it’s a command.”- He said in his overpowering voice, small as he was he could instill fear in animals ten times his size.

-” You cannot order me around anymore, I’m not a child.”-

He merely smiled petulantly -”Try me.”-

As she left her father’s office she got a text from Po to make the confirmation of their date, with everything around her crumbling to pieces she longed for nothing more than to regain control in at least a small aspect of her life. She confirmed the date with a mild sadistic smile on her face, that poor panda had no idea of what he had gotten into.  
……………………………………..

The panda arrived to the luxurious skyscraper on the middle of the city, he hadn’t been to this side of town more than a hand full of times in his life. Usually it was just to make a few make deliveries. He felt extremely out of place just waltzing in on this huge building. She lived in the Legendale residence, one of the most priced real estates in the country. Looking up, he could see how the pristine glass panels were perfectly clean with the monolithic behemoth piercing the sky in slanted lines. 

Arriving at the main hall, he noticed the different types of exotic marble comprising the floor, pillars and even many of the walls. There were engravings lined with gold which added even more opulence. 

He felt vulnerable and lonely to a degree he hadn’t before. It was 12 AM on a Tuesday night, most sane animals were already asleep. He guessed that’s why she chose this time and place, so nobody would know she was “involved” with a nobody. 

However, the main entrance was not entirely empty, behind a large wooden desk was a stiff posh Pig that greeted him courtly and led him to the top floor without Po even being able to ask questions. He seemed to do his best not to look at Po in the face, as if trying to distance himself from whatever issue might have brought this unassuming bear to this part of town.

At last Po arrived at the door to her apartment, it was a loft that took the entire floor. After shyly knocking on the door it opened, revealing the overpowering Tigress dressed in a very tight black dress that revealed a deep cleavage and a long slit that extended from her left hip downwards, exposing the most flawless toned legs he had ever laid eyes on. Some of the threatening aura around her diminished when she greeted him with a warm smile.

-”Come in, make yourself comfortable.”- She said as she led him to a gorgeous dinner table that seemed way too big for just two people.

-”I hope I'm not late or anything.” He said quite humbly while removing his shoes and placing them aside.

-”Of course not, make yourself at home. Dinner should be ready soon.”- She said in a relaxed, friendly way. He could tell that her demeanor was somewhat forced, not exactly fake or hypocritical but not that genuine either.

Though he was nervous in this situation, Po was naturally good at striking conversation and with overall social skills so he guessed he might as well break the ice. -”Well, it sure is a nice place. It really beats a small room in a noodle shop.”

She smiled at the compliment. -”Yes this is prime real estate, still it's a lot smaller than the house I grew up on. But I can’t deny its convenience being really close to the offices.”- She stated before leading him over to a large wine rack.

-”Do you drink?”- She asked showing him a bottle of a 74 Chateau Laffitte, one of the few specimens that still remained.

-”Well, I wouldn't say I do regularly. We mostly use bottles for cooking dishes for some of the more wealthy customers back at home. Plus, isn't that really expensive?”- He added, looking at the exquisite and very old label on the bottle.

-”It is. If I must be honest, I have this wine merely as a sign of status, I’ve had another one of these recently and the taste is excellent. I could show you several Malbecs from Mendoza or Bordeaux from the Napa valley which are just as good if not better and they would cost a fraction of this.”-  
She said while still pouring him a glass half full.

Smiling, he took the glass and was about to take a sip before thinking,  
-”Wait, shouldn't we drink to something? I mean that's what they usually do right?”-

Tigress had always cared very little for formalities especially in her own home. Perhaps because they had been imposed on her on every social event throughout her entire life. But the look on his face was too adorable to pass up. She merely smiled and raised her own. It was an honest smile, even if her eyes were filled with sadness. Raising her full glass she merely said, -”Cheers, to a new business opportunity”-

-”Yes!”- He said before stomaching the whole glass in one gulp. The drink tasted amazing! Far better than the mediocre ones him and his friends would have back at home. The aftertaste however, left a strange feeling underneath his eyes. He squinted for a moment before the feeling quickly went away.

His host served him the entree and then the main course, she made it seem like a casual meal between friends, even if the food was obviously done by a professional chef and left on heated plates so it would not get cold. Before dessert that wine bottle was very nearly empty.

As they ate, she thought it was a good time to speak of her part of their arrangement, -”Tell me Po, if you had all the money in the world, what would you do?”-

What would he do? What would he do? What would a Panda who lived in the lower class who had never tasted wealth do with all the money in the world? Po truly didn't know the answer, not because there wasn't an answer, but rather because the thought had never crossed his mind. -”Wow... Well to be honest, I'm not really sure what I'd do.”- He answered simply.

This is the first time she had heard that answer, she didn’t really know what to make out of it, -”That might be a problem, before you develop a business plan you need to have a goal, or an objective to keep your focus on. I've seen how you live, it's a dignified life for sure but with all the financial needs you have on a daily basis there must be something you want. Otherwise let's face it, you would not be alone with me in this large apartment.”- She made the last sentence sound like she was indeed a predator on the prowl who had cornered her prey.

-”Oh, I mean... Don't get me wrong, I know money is important and all but I'm not really interested in being rich or wealthy, I just want to be happy.”-

-”Then why are you willing to do something that makes you uncomfortable just to obtain power? Because I highly doubt it’s because you want to engage in BDSM isn't it? This is just a means to an end. So I will ask again. What is that end? What is it that you want in exchange for fulfilling my fantasies?”-

Po was feeling a bit nervous again, though his fear was only because he truly didn't know the answer to her question. There was a real answer, but it was not the answer she wanted. -”Uh... Well…”-He trailed off -”I guess I just kind of wanted to get to know you better. I mean, I chose you for that interview because you're really an idol to me! And not just in martial arts but also in a lot of other things! I know it's silly for me to think this way, but I'm really not motivated by money or fame or anything. I just want to be who I am and to be happy. And for my friends to be happy.”- He explained while looking away shamefully.

She was flabbergasted, in their last encounter he had made it seem it was mostly money that he was after and she was okay with that, it made things easier but now... She was lost. -”It doesn't make sense, I saw ambition within you and you were not that eager to have sex with me.”-

-”I... I don't know. It's just that I wasn't at all expecting you to say what you did yesterday and I was afraid that if I said no you'd never talk to me again.”-

She sighed, this sure make things complicated. -”Look Po I have to be honest, I'm not looking for any deep emotional connection or anything like that. I want this exchange to be as emotionally detached as possible, I....”- She bowed her head sadly -”I'm not at the right place to start a romantic relationship, not a regular one. All I can offer is for you to reach your full potential in life, and perhaps a new interesting type of pleasure that you might enjoy, but not more than that.”-

He sighed as well, she misunderstood him but it was fine, he also had trouble expressing how he truly felt and his blabbermouth awkwardness did not make any of this any easier. -”That's fair, I suppose it makes sense all things considered”-

"Well this is killing the mood..." She thought to herself, but with dessert now over she guessed it might be time to test the waters. This panda intrigued her but she had her doubts of whether he could keep up with her pace.  
-”I think I have an exercise we should try out before we move on to the next step, don't worry it doesn't involve sex yet, I just want to explain the rules of our future play. If you allow me, I would like to kiss you."- Her glowing red eyes now focused exclusively on him with her tail swishing wildly from side to side.

He raised a brow, "Wow, this really is a strange date..." He thought before replying -”Umm, sure”- He said, sounding a bit weirded out by her request, she really didn’t beat around the bush.

She walked towards him, the graceful sway of her hips was almost hipnotic. Before he knew it she retrieved a pair of pawcuffs out of nowhere, there didn't seem to be a place to keep those anywhere around and her tight black dress did not have any room for keeping them. Nonetheless she showed them to him.

-”These are not regular pawcuffs, they have a little button on the side that makes them really easy to open, it is essentially just for show. Now after you can check how they work I would like to place your arms behind your back and put these on to keep them in place. Remember that you can easily open them up if you want.”-

Getting more nervous by the second, his heart beat had risen to a fast regular thump that vibrated inside his chest, it was almost loud enough for him to hear it. -”O-okay…”- He answered, sounding a bit unsure, but it was something she did not pick up on.

She walked behind him and gently placed his arms behind his back then put the cuffs in his thick wrists, she felt him tense as they clicked into place.

Po's whole body simply refused to move from this point. Everything was happening so fast now that it seemed almost surreal, though he managed to keep himself calm enough for her to continue.

She circled around him and moments later stopped in front of him while he sat in the chair totally immobilized, though the cheap trinket of the pawcuffs was really not to blame for that. Then in a swift motion she layed on top of him, sitting right over his lap with her strong toned legs on each of his sides, the slit of her dress seeming to run deeper than it had at first sight.

Her face was inches away from his and he could now easily smell her perfume and the hint of the expensive wine in her breath.  
-”So these are the rules, I decide what we do, you decide when we stop and how far we go. I will kiss you now, and you must stay very still, if you move or remove the pawcuffs the game is over. Do you understand?”- She purred softly into his ear and giggled a little at the cute way it twitched.

Not being able to form an answer with words, he nodded.

She only pressed her lips over his at first, it was almost chaste, his fur was in fact quite soft. She tested his response, seeing if he would tense or get involved into it. At first it was expected that he would be uncomfortable with the action, however to her surprise, he actually returned the favor. And what's more, he was surprisingly good at it compared to her usual victims. As if he already had much more experience than it seemed, maybe the panda wasn’t as innocent as he looked.

Tigress was in fact pleasantly surprised, he didn't seem put off by the situation at all. Now her tongue slithered inside his mouth and she could see him flinch a little at how raspy it was, as he jolted she pressed even more, pushing it to his upper palate, noticing the now familiar flinch of pain her subs usually felt whenever she tried it. Now it was time to assess if he would be able to tolerate the sensation or whether he would freak out by the alien experience.

This indeed did feel painful. It was said that felines' tongues were basically as sharp as a grater and she was no exception. Though, for some reason that he couldn't explain, he allowed it and bared through the discomfort, only letting out a small groan while it grazed the top of his mouth.

He had passed her test so far, one of the key aspects of the BDSM lifestyle is not just the pain caused but the rewards given as gratitude for the subs obedience. She eased the pressure of her tongue, it now flickered playful with his without scraping too far. He met her efforts every step of the way, she could tell deep down he was getting into it. Then she removed her tongue and as he caught his breath she slowly brushed her head against his while chuffing softly, the deep exhale of her breath tickling his skin.

The amount of input right now was overwhelming to Po, he had never engaged in things like these with anyone before, let alone things this intense and spontaneous. Regardless, a part of him was oddly satisfied and aroused. As he caught his own breath, he listened to the sounds of her chuffs while taking in the feeling of her fur. He had not expected everything to escalate this quickly, but he supposed it was because of the nature of the feline's desires.

She then leaned her head back and looked straight into his eyes, there was a steep contrast between the gentle way her experienced paws roamed over his torso in feather light touch and the fierce piercing intensity of her gaze. In her deep silky voice she asked him, -”These are the rules for my games, are you willing to keep on playing? Or do you think this is too much for you to handle? Think before you answer Panda, there might not be a way to turn back after this.”-

Po wasn't really ready for this question, everything thus far had been too much for his normally 'innocent' demeanor. But strangely he hardly felt like his average self at the moment. He wasn't fully sure what his answer was, but he knew he had to say something. -”...No it’s okay, I can handle it.”- He said while he regained his voice and stared her in the eyes.  
His answer even surprised himself, though at this point he hardly felt in control of his own body or mind.

With a sly half smile the predator was finally satisfied of snatching her prey, -”Very well, no more child's play then, now we move on to the real fun.”-  
She said leaning close to him and kissing him once more as a reward for his choice, in the meantime her paws slid behind his arms and she quickly unlocked the pawcuffs. As soon as he was free she stood up, -”Follow me Po, I want to show you my dungeon.”- She ordered while leading the way.

His eyes went wide upon hearing this, but not because of joy, rather of terror at the word she used. 'Dungeon'

She led him to her main hall, the bookshelf was in fact a hidden door to a secret room, once inside he could see the place was quite big with a sturdy metal bed in the center, the walls were lined with whips, pawcuffs and other BDSM paraphernalia, there were strange metal constructions around them that he could never guess what the specific purposes were. Once the door locked behind him with a clank he couldn't help but flinch.

-”Don't worry about the door, it can’t be locked from the inside, only from the outside.”- She said pushing it gently and showing how it would open easily.

-”Oh jeez, that makes me feel so much better…”- He said sarcastically while looking around at all the other torture or rather 'pleasure' equipment.

Noticing the dread in his eyes while looking at her equipment she merely told him while showing him a pair of pawcuffs and a metal chain.  
-”We won't use any of these today, you are clearly not ready for it, except for these.”-

After having already been pawcuffed, Po was not that scared of these anymore, but he certainly wondered what the chain was for.

-”This is what we are going to do, I will tell you what will happen before you subject yourself as my sub, once you agree with the activity we can start. Today I will tie you to the bed using the chains and the pawcuffs, as you know you can easily open them up whenever you want. For your safety I will use only my paws to slap you, they offer a lot more control than the other devices. Now have you ever heard of a safe word? Do you know what that means?”-

-” S-s-s-safeword? S-s-s-slap!?”-  
He stuttered as he looked over to the bed which hardly looked comfortable at all.

Tigress merely rolled her eyes, it seemed he would need way more tutoring than expected, -”Give me your paw, I'll show you.”-

After he nervously extended his shaking paw she caught it in a firm grip. She gently caressed it at first, even massaged his fingers in soft fluid strokes, only after he relaxed a little did she slap the back of his paw. It was a perfectly controlled movement, as only someone proficient in martial arts could do. It was designed to strike only the upper layers of fur and skin, leaving a stinging sensation that didn't feel like a blow on the deeper tissue.

Po cringed, managing not to yelp out at the unexpected action. It hadn't hurt, but it had certainly caught him off guard.

-”That is how you will be slapped. Now moving on to the safeword. Most subs actually like to pretend they don't like what's happening to them and even like to beg for the "torment" to stop, while in fact they actually enjoy themselves and want to keep going. This means that instead of screaming words like “stop” or “get me out” they say a safe word to signal that they want to stop the game. Now in your case I don't think any safeword is needed, since you are not experienced enough to play the part of the helpless victim. So in your case, every word is a safe word. If you want the game to carry on you must stay very quiet, you can moan or even scream as much as you want but the moment you talk, I will stop and untie you. This means that if you want to keep playing with me, If you want to make me happy, you will stay quiet.”-

Po felt absolutely unsure whether he wanted to continue or not. He weighed his options carefully, knowing that continuing meant spending more time with her at the expense of being tortured for pleasure on her end. But he also knew that were he to quit she would likely distance herself from him permanently.  
He took a deep breath.

-”Okay.”-He said simply.

-”Good, you can take your clothes off, do you need any help with that?”-

He immediately blushed at this. She seemed to spontaneously make demands, and absurd demands at that. But by now he knew that this was simply due to her fetish rituals. He shook his head and proceeded to do as she told, unbuttoning his shirt and removing it, then unzipping the fly on his pants and then removing his belt.

She nodded in response as she unzipped her tight black dress, it fell softly to the ground revealing her fully naked form. The feline almost went for the typical black leather corset and lace underwear, the BDSM “uniform” as she liked to call it, but she was worried this might scare him even more. There was no need to look even more threatening now. -”You can lay on the bed and put your paws over your head, I will take care of the rest.”-

Skeptically, he made his way over to the steel bed frame and sat down on it. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it looked, sure the mattress was really firm but it still yielded at his large weight.

She crouched over him, her legs at either side of his hips, then slowly led his torso downwards until her soft white fluffy fur came in full contact with his belly, then she swiftly tied him up to the metal bars of the headboard, leaving him with his arms stretched behind him. The cuffs were snapped in place and he was finally trapped.

Then she sat backwards and smiled at her captive, it was just what she wanted right now, to have full control in a world that gave her anything but. Still, she was aware that he was giving her a gift so she wanted to make it up to him. Once more she leaned towards him and ran her paw over his large belly, then she begun to kiss him, it was soft at first, her mouth barely grazing his.  
His skin was extremely sensitive, she could see him shiver and twitched even at her lightest touch, it was adorable really.

Though his fear was evident, Po could not seem to take his eyes off of the feline's near if not perfect physique. She of course noticed the attention but accepted it nonetheless while continuing to caress his black and white fur with fluid strokes.

It truly was an art, how to navigate the edge between pleasure and pain, her paws could feel the warmth on his skin as she caressed him, she knew when the right amount of tension was building up and could tell when he was reaching the apex of sensation and just then, just in the right moment, she slapped his belly in the same way she had done with his hand, causing a stinging sensation on the sensitive and overstimulated skin that was enhanced by the previous ministrations

He flinched in pain but did not dare to make a sound, it was an uncomfortable situation and part of him wanted to run the hell away from all this, maybe he should talk and ask her to stop.

-”You’re hard already”- She said triumphant.

Well his mind might have been against this but his body did seem to have other ideas. He opened his eyes and saw the stunning view of her flawless naked form leaning over him as she trailed soft peppering kisses all over his torso. He was sure no view in this world could match the beauty of the spectacle in front of him, only an idiot would give that away for a little discomfort and pain.

Her paw was already massaging his penis with a dexterity he never thought was possible, she was a true master in the balance between gentle strokes and firm pressure. He would have climaxed right then and there if her other hand hadn’t landed on his side next to his ribcage with yet another stinging slap which brought him out of his train of thought. He was almost sure she had hit him with the same force and precision as before but this time it felt different, this time his skin burned as if she had landed an open flame in the area, he had to take deep breaths because the sensory overload was proving too much for him to handle and he felt a bit light headed.

-”Po are you okay?”- He heard her concerned voice as if through a haze, all he could do was shake his head -”That’s enough I’m untying you right now.”-

His brain begged him to agree and stop this nonsense right now but his mouth must have been possessed by who knows what evil spirit lurks in the shadows, because instead of begging for mercy he yelled out loud, -”No! Don’t stop! I don’t want to stop, I don’t want this to end!”-

He opened his eyes to find a perplexed Tigress looking at him, all gorgeous curves and muscle, perfect fur now disheveled and stunning breasts rising up and down in jagged breaths. He was truly bewitched now, his voice now coarse, firm, grave and demanding as his eyes burned with a green fire that could easily overpower her. -”We are going all the way, now!”-

-”You broke the rules”- She said trying to regain control of the situation.

-”Then punish me all you want, but the game is still on.”- He begged in sheer desperation. 

Had he just asked her to go even further when he could barely tolerate what she had done so far? A single tear escaped his eyes as he felt more terrified than ever before.

-”Punishment it is, but you must stay very still is that clear?”-

He nodded, hoping she didn’t see how his paws trembled in anticipation. He saw in horror how she lowered her mouth towards his manhood, oh god those sharp teeth, that raspy tongue, he expected nothing but misery. Yet what he got was the most exquisite blend of sensations he had ever experienced. 

Yes there was an abrasive feel to it, but in a gentle way. She was also controlled and so warm. It was hell, but also heaven, it was nirvana and more than anything he had ever felt before, there was a pang of flashing light and by the time he came to himself he wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. He shook his head and woke up untied while still laying in the stiff bed.

-”Well that was something.”- She said smiling. -”Are you okay?”-

“Of course I’m not! I just had my mind literally blown away!” He thought still trying to come to terms on what had just happened -”What about you?”- He said dodging the answer

-”What do you mean?”-

-”You didn’t seem to get any out of this, I mean isn’t it supposed to be a two way thing?”-

-”Oh that. Well the dom sometimes exposes herself to the sub as a reward for behaving well but you didn’t earn it because you broke the rules, so it will have to be another time”-

He was exhausted and nerve wrecked, yet he felt incredibly frustrated that she would play with him this way without ever really giving herself to him the way he did to her. He saw her walk away from the bed and it was a crime in his eyes that she would cover such natural beauty with that undeserving piece of cloth. But she might be right, he wasn’t sure he could make his paws move properly after being tied up so long, much less perform at the standard that she probably expected from her sex slaves.

After getting redressed, she led him to the living room where they could watch TV. To her it had been a mild warm up but to him it had been a very intense experience and it was her duty as a dominatrix to make sure he was alright. As he settled on her soft couch she made him hot chocolate.

Po took this opportunity to get what relaxation time he could after that excruciating but weirdly also slightly enjoyable session. He reflected on the experience with one part of his mind having liked it while the other could not have been more against it.

-”How are you holding up?”- She asked him, concern littering her eyes.

Po barely even heard her while in a train of thought but could register some of what she had said, he shook his head and went back to reality. -”It's fine, I'm fine.”- He somewhat lied.

Tigress saw the mild shiver of the bear’s paw while holding the mug -”I am having trouble figuring you out. Sometimes I could tell you could really be a good sub, it's like you really wanted it, but there were times where you seemed scared. I did make it clear that we could stop whenever you want.”-

-”Yes, I know that.”- He answered while giving her a reassuring smile that was clearly fake.

-”Do you think you would be able to do it again?”-

“Do I really wanna do that again?” He thought as he looked back towards the Television, his mind said no but the sudden tightness in his pants told him his body had different ideas, he could swear his “tenders” had a mind of their own.  
-”Yes, but I think I need a bit of a break. This was all so sudden and 'new' to me…”-

She saw his lie, he wasn’t ready for this and she would cause him a lot of emotional trauma if she carried on, this would not work. There was enough baggage and drama in her life, she needed a sub that would be able to face her games without shaking in fear afterwards -”Of course, take a few days off and think things through, remember that you are the one really in control. Do you want me to call you a cab?”-

-”A-Actually I was gonna ask you about something”-

-”Sure what is it?”-

-”Look I know you're busy and all but can I hang out a little longer? It's just that this whole night has mostly been action and very little actual…”-

-”Actual what? What is that you really want?”- She stated defensively.

“Where am I going with this…” He thought anxiously while twiddling his thumbs.-”Well, It's not that I don't like all the action, I mean, some of it is a bit extreme but nothing I can't deal with. It's just that, with all this going on, I haven't even really gotten to know you that well.”-

She had a difficult day, the dungeon had helped improve her mood but she felt too tired to hold back any longer, her mouth just begun to blurt out all the ideas causing havoc on her mind, -”Would it be too hard to understand that there is not that much to know about? You would be surprised of how empty life can be for people like me. There are no real friends, just associates you like hanging out with. There are mentors, not parents and nobody is safe from betrayal, not even the people you love the most.”-

Po looked a bit puzzled. “No real friends? How does she even get by? I guess it's true that money doesn't buy happiness…” He thought before replying, -”Well I'm sure there's more to it than just that. You've gotta at least have some friends, right?”-

-”I do, and this morning they told me I have to throw my own father under the bus so I can lead the company. If I do he will go to jail and if I don't the company will be ruined and thousands of people will lose their jobs.”- Then she thought of what might happen if Tai Lung somehow managed to seize the assets of the company, perhaps the mafia might be even more powerful than it already is.

Po looked saddened and worried at the lost miserable expression in her eyes, he cursed his blabbermouth for the eleventh time that night -”Wait, for real? I'm sorry to hear that, I shouldn't have asked.”-

She merely shrugged -”It's okay you had no way of knowing”-

He slumped a bit while staring at his empty cocoa mug, wishing it was full again so he could have something to do, besides sugar always helped him feel better and think more clearly, -”I guess it really is way harder than it looks, you know, to be upper class and all.”-

-”When they say the system is rigged they are telling the truth. The system is made by powerful people that want to keep their place on the top. That can only be accomplished by crushing those who are down. So they set up rules and plans all the time to keep the poor in poverty and the rich in wealth, you have no idea how many times our investors have pushed us to lower the wages of our workers and how many times they demanded we find loopholes to avoid paying compensations. They also thrive in secrets, Oogway and my father had a decent size company but they didn't became as big as they are until my father made a mistake, when he did they knew they could manipulate him into doing whatever they wanted him to or they would expose his secret, and just like that he belonged in the elites.”- She had no idea where the hell that came from. It was as though she had lost the filter between her brain and mouth and was now voicing the many ideas she had kept to herself over the years.

-”That may be so, but what about you? It seems to me like you're trying to do the right thing. It's just too bad that the situation is a sort of downward spiral with no perfect outcome.”-

It was impressive really, how this humble panda had managed to get such a clear grasp of the situation. Letting out a big breath she merely nodded and explained, -”It's the definition of a dilemma I guess, both outcomes are equally bad so there is no right choice. Maybe you had it figured out from the beginning and looking for wealth is not the way to go. Every large fortune in this world was made by blood money at some point of its history. All the gracious gentlemen and ladies you see parading in charity events, all of them have a pawful of crimes and immoral deeds under their Gucci belts. Even me.”- Without any explanation of how it happened, she found herself snuggling close to him as he held her tight.

-”Well, the old saying is that nobody is perfect. I'm sorry you have to live life this way, without being able to really escape it or run away from it.”-

Turning around from her comfortable nook on his side she turned her inquisitive piercing eyes towards him -”Yeah you're right. Still, I'm on to you. Don't think I don't know what you are up to.”-

-”Huh? What do you mean?”-

-”You made me talk about myself so I didn't make you talk about yourself. There is something you want Po, something you don't want to tell me about, yet you keep trying to accomplish it nonetheless. I can tell it's not exactly money in spite of your ambition and you are too pure to want just sex.”-

-”I'm not trying to hide it at all Miss Tigress, I just want to be friends. You really are an amazing person and a huge role model to me, and plus, maybe a friend is exactly what you need.”-

She pondered the offer, he did seem genuine yet she had always distrusted those who were not in the same status as her, it might be a classicist thing to do but the truth is most of her subs had always wanted something out of her and it wasn't just pleasure. Maybe she should let him spend the night in her place, to further her examination on his character, it's too late for him to be outside anyways.

That was until her sensitive ears picked a strange sound coming from the hallway, turning around she motioned him to stay quiet,  
-”Someone is at the door, it's 2 AM. This can't be good.”-

Po was nervous again, though he did as he was told, he wondered how the feline had even recognized the presence of someone when there had been no knocks, rings, or any other indication to give them away. -”Uh, do you by chance have a maid that forgot something?”-He whispered.

Shaking her head she opened the door, outside there was a picture taken of the five dead employees. Given the angle and proximity she was sure it did not come from the media, it must have been from the time Tai Lung raided the docks. "You're next kitty. Enjoy that boy toy while you can." Read the back of the picture in precise legible handwriting.

Po noticed the feline's expression change from being cautious to being worried, terrified even. -”Well? Who was it?”- He asked in pure ignorance.

The photo was quickly crumpled and hidden in her paw so he wouldn’t see it -”Sadly it is not something you need to be involved with. I'm worried, however, that it might affect you. There is someone very dangerous coming after me and I don't want you to get caught up in this. Just in case I need you to follow me, we are going to the garage and I want you to take one of my cars so you get home safely.”-

As if this night could have possibly gotten any stranger, they were both now threatened by a mysterious dangerous person? Po didn't question it any more and followed the feline into her garage filled with collections of all sorts of expensive automobiles from restored antiques to brand new supercars, it seemed like she owned the entire auto market in this large warehouse-like structure.

She led him to the most inconspicuous car she could find. It was a black 2017 Mercedes G Class SUV with dark tinted windows. -”This car is bulletproof, take this and drive home to pick up your father. Then drive to one of my summer houses.”-

Bulletproof? Why would he be in need of a bulletproof car? -”WHAT!? Okay. What's going on? Surely you can't be that nervous about some bad guy, why not just call the police if this is that important?”-

-”The Mafia is involved in this, the police work for them as well. I think you should be fine, but just in case I want to keep you away until everything blows over”- She said stoically as if being threatened by the mob was just a mild inconvenience, with only the frantic swish of her tail exposing how scared she was.

-”The mafia!? And the Police work for them? Why are they after you!?”-  
Po asked, continuing a barrage of questions, none of which she wanted to answer.

-”The more you know the more dangerous it will be”- She told him bluntly then gave him the keys -”The ownership will be transferred to you by tomorrow morning.”-

Po's jaw lay wide open, his brain had simply stopped, he couldn't process the information as fast as it came, and who could blame him? But this was certainly not the time to stall so he nodded and took the keys. He knew how to drive, having taken and passed the tests during his high school years, but a car this expensive? He felt completely out of place.

-”Have you ever fired a gun before?”- She asked while inspecting the car, making sure there hadn’t been any bombs planted inside.

-”WHAT!? NO! Why would I have ever done that before?”-

-”Fair enough.”- She took a gun from below the seat of the car. A 9 Millimeter Pistol that was used by her private security to follow them, meaning that there might be even more of them hidden in its secret compartments. 

Checking if the gun was loaded and that it had a bullet in the chamber she showed it to him. -”This is the safety switch, and this lever here is the trigger. If someone attacks you, aim at them and pull the trigger. I think there might be a Kevlar vest in the trunk too-”-

Po shook his head.-”No”- He said simply.

She groaned. -”Look, I'm sorry that you were pulled into this but paranoia is the one thing that might keep both of us alive right now. I'm not asking you to go shooting people at random, just that if you ever get in the situation you will be able to defend yourself.”-

-”No, I'm not going to shoot anyone. Even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't do it. None of this was what I signed on for... I don't even know what I'm doing here anyway, I'm just a chef in a noodle shop and you're a board member on the wealthiest corporation in the country! Not to mention an incredible martial artist! How did I get myself into this…”- He mumbled while running his paws all over his face

She understood his reaction but she could barely hold herself together at the moment, she just needed him to cooperate. Why was everyone refusing to do as she told them to? She wouldn’t win anything by yelling at him and scaring him even further so she dialed down her rage and tried to make him come to reason. -”I agree with you, you don't deserve to get dragged into this. But what about your father? What if he were attacked? So far I’m the one they want, but I don't want an innocent guy like you to get hurt just because they're after me.”-

He was in fact more composed than her right now, which wasn’t much really -”I would never kill someone, no matter what they did. But back to the matter at hand. I'll return to my dad and tell him the news but I can't expect him to believe any of it let alone go away and leave his home. You don't understand what that shop means to him.”-

She had thought about it in fact, even before the threat, it was going to be part of his payment for his services as a sub -”You’d be surprised how many things I can understand, I counted at least several transgressions to the health code in that place. Close the shop and I'll make sure it gets remodeled, once this is over you can go back and reopen that shop and make it better than it was, it will also be a good cover on why you were away.”-

He sighed, this was all way too much for him to handle, but what he did know was that she had a point. If he stayed, he could be in serious danger, what with the mafia involved. -”Okay. I'll try and get him to agree, but I won't kill anyone or ever use that thing.”-

-”That's good enough for now. As I said it's me who they are after, I'm just making sure you don't get hurt in the crossfire.”- She then gave him a brand new high class cellphone. -” This one is untraceable, throw away yours so you don't get followed, inside it there’s the address of my summer house and a phone number in its contact list.”-

He looked at his crappy old blackberry from 4 years ago. This at least was an easy decision, the first he'd had in quite a while, he threw the thing away as it shattered to pieces on the ground. -”What is the number for?”-

-”Is for you to call in case I die, these people will know what to do, they’ll be your new bodyguards.”-

-”If you die!?”- It was not a pleasant thought but nonetheless a foreseeable one.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the garage exit with a distant somber look -”Yes that is a possibility but if things go according to plan everything will be over soon, for better or worse.”-

-”What the hell is going on…”- He mumbled to himself, yet he didn’t have much time to ponder on things as she led him inside the car and closed the door.

-”I need to ask you something. No matter what happens next, please keep my secret even should I die. There is no need to bring shame on my legacy and the enterprise, now go, don't waste more time.”-

He nodded with an honest face. A trustworthy expression that anyone could know was genuine.-”Wait.”- He said before shutting the window.

-”What is it?”-

-”Just... Be safe Miss Tigress.”-

-”I will”- She lied


	3. The Fall

Chapter 3  
The Fall

Tigress stared blankly at the empty space where the wagon used to be. Her brain had been overloaded with the possible outcomes ahead of her and the near thousand strategies she had to come up with if she wanted her family to survive.

Once she snapped back she wasted no time in telling her team and Shifu about what had happened, they needed to be alert in case the mafia came after them too. She hadn’t even made it back to her apartment before her phone rang like crazy and received tons of messages from the five. All the while her father simply sent her a text that read, “Stay in your apartment. I’m sending a security team.”

So far she figured it was solid advice, unfortunately, once she entered her apartment she realized someone was already present. Out of the shadows two glowing yellow eyes materialized and a threatening large silhouette came after, stepping out from the dark Tai Lung stood in front of her.

-”Greetings sister, long time no see.”-

He might have been a killing machine but she was no wilting flower either. Taking a deep breath she forced her heart to quiet down, certain that a predator like him would hear it thumping in her chest. “Be calm and rational” She thought to herself. “Stall him until help arrives”

-”What do you want?”- She blurted out, trying to come off as calm and collected but in her tense state of mind it more closely resembled a blunt roar. “Well that’s just great, you should hold him back until the reinforcements get here instead of rushing him in” Her brain chastised her.

-”Ah yes, it’s true what they say, you have one of the sharpest minds in China but the diplomacy skills of a sledgehammer. Fair enough, what I want is what is rightfully mine. The company, plain and simple.”-

-”And you simply expect us to hand it over to you? Do tell “brother” how are you supposed to handle a multi billion enterprise when you have a death sentence for first degree murder?”-

-”I have a new identity now, several in fact. All I need from you is your signature on a few papers in exchange for safety. In fact I’m willing to allow you to keep a small share of the company’s stock for your retirement.”-

-”How generous.”- She said sarcastically before continuing, -”Do you really think our father would sign the rights of the company to you?”-

A hateful venomous rage shone through his eyes upon hearing that, -”Shifu won’t have much saying in the matter once I’m done with him. You as the only heiress will be the new head of the company very soon.”- 

He forced the expression on his face to go from an angry scowl into a patronizing smile -”I have no qualms with you sister, be a good girl, stay out of my way and you might get out of this unharmed.”-

Her phone rang, before she could turn it off the gigantic snow leopard commanded -”Pick it up.”-

She did as told knowing full well that with his acute senses he would have no problem hearing what was being spoken on the other end of the line.

-”Tigress, I need a status report. I'm on my way with the security team. We'll be arriving in ten minutes.”- Shifu’s voice barked as though he were a general facing an army. Only those who knew him could tell the hint of fear below his bravado.

She saw Tai Lung’s smile widening, Shifu was playing right into his paws, he would probably murder him as soon as he arrived.

There was no point in stalling anymore. -”Tai lung is here and he wants to kill you!”- She managed to shout before he lunged at her and swiped the phone from her paws.

Well, so much for stalling then. She managed to disentangle herself from his grip, then having to quickly react and weave out of the way as he again charged at her. He didn’t even lose balance as she dodged him, instead pivoting fast and throwing a punch to her face that she barely had time to block, her arm almost breaking from the crushing force.

A quick succession of blows followed and all she could do was stand her ground with her closed fists protecting her face while the rest of her arms shielded her torso. That was until he halted his offense momentarily, this gave her the opening she needed. Quickly sneaking her arms below his elbow, twisting the limb with all her strength and trapping his arm in a powerful lock. Once secure she only had a brief window to retaliate, launching the back of her palm right onto his snout at full force.

Even when she heard the bone crack he barely flinched. Her chances of making it out alive were growing thinner by the minute, the least she could do was inflict as much damage as she could. She used her extended claws and swiped at his eyes, earning a roar of pain, but not before her lock on him was severed. He ignored the pain and rotated his back with so much force she was thrown against the wall.

-”Do you think this is a game little kitten?”- He growled with a fiery rage in his eyes. The fangs that peaked out of his malevolent grin somehow seemed sharper than before.

Without a care for mercy at this point, he hoisted her up with his paw clamping her throat. -”Careful, if I die your plans to take over won’t be possible.”- She managed through gasps as his grip on her neck was getting tighter by the second.

-”Right you are, I need you alive. But alive doesn’t mean in one piece.”-

In his blind rage, he forgot to immobilize her arms. And while struggling feebly against him her hands sneaked below his belt, sure it was a dirty move but desperate times called for desperate measures. Her claws crushed him in the groin and his jolt of pain gave her enough time to get him off. Taking the chance to get as far away from him as possible while trying to regain her breath she heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the hallway signaling that the cavalry had arrived.

-”You lost Tai Lung”- she stated triumphantly.

-”So did you, you’ve lost all use for me now.”- He roared as he pulled a pistol from behind and shot her, the bullet piercing her shoulder. She should have known he wouldn’t fight fair. 

She had never been shot before, the pain hardly even registered with the degree of shock. Her consciousness momentarily left as she fell to the floor. By the time she re-opened her eyes the apartment had been flooded by paramilitary officers and her father who was by her side putting pressure on the wound.

-”It hit an artery”- She said through heavy gasps as the blood spurted from the wound and stained the floor.

-”An ambulance is coming, you’ll be alright.”- He said while pushing even deeper on her shoulder in spite of her cries of pain, he had given up on keeping composure and was shouting angry commands at the security team.

Looking around the room in the vain hope of taking her mind of the pain she saw many figures dressed in black but not her brother.

He read into the worry in her face -”He got away but we will find him, don’t worry you are safe now.”- The red panda did not sound reassuring at all, the panic in his expression was obvious as he yelled for the eleventh time asking why the ambulance was taking so long.

She did not believe him, but at this point all she could do was nod and shut her eyes as her consciousness once again left from the increased blood loss.

Meanwhile in the bamboo forest of Anji, Po had arrived at a beautiful manor hidden between the luscious greenery. A crystal clear artificial lake surrounded the large building reflecting the starry night sky, making it look like it was floating above the ground.

-”So this is your girlfriend’s summer house?”- Mr Ping said, sounding pleased as he strutted through the enormous building.

-”Yeah, she said we should stay here while the shop is being remodeled.”- Po lied with a fake smile. He figured it was better to hide the truth from his father than to scare him with the prospect of a dangerous mafia on their trail. Besides, if Miss Tigress kept her word and managed to defeat those goons, then his dad would never know anyway. She would probably kick their tails, she was the most formidable fighter he had ever seen! 

-”I am really proud of you Po, you must have made a very good impression on that lady if she’s willing to invest in our shop.”-

-”Yeah”- He said, scratching his head in embarrassment at the thought of what he had done in order to earn her attention. Ironically enough, she seemed to have more faith in his future as a businessman than he did. He sighed, -”I think she wants me to be more ambitious, but I don’t really care that much about money.”-

-”Well then, she might give you the push you need. I have always believed you had lots of potential but never the drive to make good use of it. Don’t you see this might be our destiny? We are noodle folk, broth runs through our veins! You know?”- Ping stated, taking a seat on the huge buttery couch and turning up the TV. 

-”Make sure you make that tigress happy. I could get used to this kind of life, and she’s giving you a way into a world of opportunities most other people can only dream of. Besides, it’s about time you settle down. I want grandkids.”-

Po put his face into his paws. He seriously doubted a relationship with her could be possible, at least not a serious one. Still, it wasn’t like he could tell his father he’s simply a sex toy for an excentric millionaire, so he merely nodded while he aquainted himself with the modern luxurious kitchen of the building. 

They celebrated their new opportunities while dining in the living room, the news merely served as background noise, until an alert flashed on the screen.

A rat which Po recognized as Yongrui Zhou, a prominent reporter of the CGNN was featured prominently while staring straight at the center of the screen, his expression sober as he spoke, -”We have just received confirmation that the industry mogul Priya Keai, heiress of the Dragon Jade company, has been found and pronounced dead in her private residence tonight. As of now there is little information surrounding her passing, however, it is evident that this was not a suicide, and the suspect has yet to have been identified. Police have declared the case of the highest priority.”-

The reporter paused for a moment, looking slightly emotional, though he kept it in well and a second later he continued -”Miss Priya, also known as Tigress by her friends and family, was known for her many accomplishments not just as an entrepreneur but as an athlete, a martial arts champion and through her many charity foundations. She will be dearly missed.”-

Po should have panicked, his father sure looked distressed hearing the news, if only because with her death his hope of having his son marry into the upper class and having grandkids had just gone up in smoke. But instead all he cared for at this present moment was to protect his family from whoever was bold enough to kill someone with her combat skills and resources. He dialed the only number in his expensive new phone just as Tigress had instructed.

It rang only once, then it was picked up and an unidentifiable voice spoke on the other end of the line, -”We are tracking your location, keep all doors and windows closed until we arrive.”- And just like that it hung up.

After realizing that even after death Tigress had cared enough about him to keep him safe Po slumped on the couch and began to sulk. His father did his best to wrap his wings around the panda’s large frame.

-”I’m sorry Po, I know you loved her”-

He didn’t know why he lashed out but for some reason he didn’t feel he could hold up the facade anymore, -”No I did not! It was just one date and it was a weird one, I didn’t even like it”- He spat in his anger. All the while within his brain another hidden voice told him, “Yes you did, you liked it more than you dare to admit.”

-”Your crying seems to say otherwise.”- Ping stated gently while stroking his son’s head.

He didn’t even realize he had started to cry but once he did it was as if a damn had broken and his emotions poured out like a flood, he became a sobbing mess as he cried into his father’s wings. -”She was a good person dad, a weird bossy one but she was trying her best to make things right and now she won’t have the chance, it’s just not fair.”- He said between sobs and hiccups, -”It’s not fair.”- He repeated while calming down slowly, while his sorrow transitioned back into anger.

Only moments after receiving the call Su hung up and faced her kin, -”It’s time to go Sisters. Our client is waiting.”-

-”I can’t believe we’re stuck doing another babysitting job, at least tell me they’re paying us well.”- Wing lamented, custody work usually didn’t fit her restless personality.

-”Of course it is, we were hired because of our discretion and you know that doesn’t come cheap.”- Su stated while they entered their armored escalade.

Wan looked at her sister suspiciously, -”You seem awfully pleased to do this job. I can’t help but think it’s more than simply protecting a quarry.”-

-”Right you are Wan. Our client must be protected from none other than Tai Lung.”- She explained with an expression that either looked oddly excited for such a dangerous task.

Wing’s face lit up with joy at the news, -”So we’re going to go after your ex AND getting paid for it?!”-

-”If we play our cards right, yes.”- Wan stated, looking much more reserved than the other two. She was worried about Su and her desire to get back at her former lover, sure her sister was a fearsome leader and skilled assassin but Tai Lung had always managed to trounce her whenever she had fought against him. Alas, once Su is set on a path nothing or no one can stop her, even if she fails she will still try over and over again until she succeeds. So for now all she could do is stay quiet and go with the flow

Su stared at the road above with malice -”Sharpen your weapons sisters, we might be using them soon.”-

Wing cheered excitedly, -”This will be the most fun we’ve had in quite some time.”-

-”I couldn’t agree more Sister.”- Su purred while her tail lashed like a deadly whip.

It was almost dawn when Po heard the vehicle approaching in the distance, he had sent his father to sleep after the horrible news and was thankful for his time alone, he needed to put his thoughts in order after having his life turned upside down. Checking his bank account he saw that five million dollars had just been deposited there, more than enough to make his dreams come true. 

But his dreams had nothing to do with money, he dreamed of having the chance to talk and hang out with Tigress again, he dreamed of not having his friends and family subjected to the whims of the mafia. He had finally realized the world was a cruel unfair price and for the first time in his life… he wanted to do something about it.


	4. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While he panics about his life being in danger, Po is visited by 3 strange ladies. What could they possibly want with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. The reason it takes me so long to update on this story is in part because the chapters are longer than I usually write in my fanfics. Also this is a collaboration I do with Ace_Risk as a co writer and coordinating stuff between two persons, both with our own real life issues and side projects takes a bit more time than usual. So yeah, we aren't abandoning this story by a long shot, but chapters are bound to take longer than usual given the more complex dynamic of working as a team, which in my personal opinion is well worth the wait.

Chapter 4

The Plan

Po opened the door to find three beautiful almost identical Leopardess’. Their eyes were a golden hue with the exception of the one in the middle who had one eye of pale blue. They were sharply dressed, and had a very serious vibe about them. He could tell they meant business. But whether that business was good or not was unclear at the moment.

The middle one stepped forward, “Greetings sir, I take it you are in need of our assistance?” She sounded professional, professional but stern at the same time and it didn’t make him feel reassured.

“I guess… As long as those services don’t involve killing me…” Po stammered, sounding just as nervous as he looked.

The leopardess to the left stepped forward. She was easily the most menacing looking of the three due to the wrappings that covered not only her mouth and nose, but her forehead as well leaving only her eyes visible. “Well considering our pay was done in advance that is not a concern for you now.”

“But you never know.” the final third sister added with malice.

Po gulped but quickly recovered and asked, “So you must be the contacts that Mistress Tigress told me to call, right?”

Su informed him in a casual tone “Yes, we were hired by Mistress Priya or rather Mistress Tigress as you call her, to keep you safe. According to her instructions we are to guard you until the threat of Tai Lung is gone, or more likely that you manage to flee the country under a new identity..”

He didn’t trust the felines in front of the door, but he did trust the one that had sent them. If Tigress had hired them, then they must be the right ones for the job, so with a deep breath he opened the door wider and let the three in.

The Leopardess’ walked inside while inspecting their surroundings, a huge manor in the woods with exquisite decoration and the newest most expensive appliances on sight. Had it not been so important for Su to use this job as an opportunity to get back at Tai Lung, she would have figured it to be a paid vacation. 

“First of all Mr…” She looked at the contract on her phone, “Po, we need to know what is your part in all of this, why is the mafia after you? After all, we need to know your probability of being targeted.”

Po scratched his head. “Yeah… About that. I was kind of really close… ‘Friends’, with Mistress Tigress…” He lied, then continued hoping they wouldn’t notice his embarrassment, “She told me to call you if something were to happen to her. I guess she figured they’d try to use me as leverage or something…”

“I see... so what do you know about the mafia? Do you have any information on them they might want to keep secret”

Po thought hard on this, “Well I can't say I know much, I mean, Mistress Tigress only really mentioned that her dad had gotten into a bunch of trouble and that she had to get him to step down from the enterprise or something… The whole thing is just crazy to understand.” He stated, stepping up to the bar and getting the three each a drink.

Wing tapped her fingers impatiently on the table, rolling her eyes. “This pawn knows even less than we do, I don't think they will even bother with him.” She groaned.

“Hey!” Po said aloud, clearly taking offense.

Su shook her head while still inspecting the structure, “I wouldn’t be so sure sister, I know Tai Lung. He does not leave any loose ends no matter how small and insignificant they are. He likely will search for him and he will attempt to kill him as well.”

“He really is that bad isn’t he?” Po said worried while twiddling his thumbs and looking down.

Su merely nodded, “The leader of the mafia is a dangerous leopard named Tai Lung, he is Mistress Priya’s adoptive brother. Many years ago he went through a mental collapse after a fight with his father and murdered a handful of innocents and It’s no secret that he has a deep grudge against his family since the incident. Your friend was not involved with this, yet he still went after her and got her killed due to her affiliation with the enterprise. Knowing him, if you have ANY small chance to interfere with his plans he will not hesitate to kill you. Is that clear?”

It was a lot of information to take in, a lot of negative information. But now was not the time for weakness. He thought of what Mistress Tigress would do in his situation. “I understand.” He stated with newfound bravery.

Su nodded, guarding someone who was not in a complete panic would make their job easier. “Good, our first order of business will be to set up a perimeter around the house. Though the estate is nice, the trees around the property are obscuring too much view, and will give the opponents an easy opportunity to ambush.”

While Su rambled on about the safety precautions, Po thought back about the gun Tigress had given him before he left. She had been adamant that he learned how to take care of himself. Guns made him incredibly nervous, and the thought of killing someone else even more. Perhaps physical combat would allow him to protect himself without killing anyone, and he saw a good opportunity to acquire these skills, “Excuse me, ladies? I need to ask you something really important”

“What is it?” Wing asked absentmindedly while making herself comfortable on the large couch and turning on the TV, looking as if she had lived here for years.

Po contemplated whether he really wanted to ask this or not. But after thinking about what she would do in this situation, he made up his mind.  
“Can you perhaps teach me to fight? If I'm gonna be attacked I might as well be able to defend myself right?”

Su raised a brow at the interruption. Wan looked reserved as always, and folded her arms. Wing on the other hand began to chuckle uncontrollably. ‘Oh that poor dumb fluffball, hehas no clue what he is in for.’ Thought all of the sisters.

Su nodded in approval, at least this would be a good excuse to keep him occupied and out of her way while setting up the preparations. “Of course. My sisters Wan and Wing will teach you to defend yourself, and in the meantime I will set up perimeter defenses.”

Wing cracked her knuckles and smiled maliciously. But to her disappointment Su commanded, “Remember Wing, keeping him alive is our actual job, don’t be THAT rough on him.”

Po raised a brow, ‘Rough?’ He thought, not knowing what the Leopardess was referring to.

Not wasting any time Wing got off the couch, grabbed him by the arm and began to inspect him thoroughly. 

“Well you do have some fighting advantages, you are large and strong.” She explained while checking his massive arms.

He was about to accept the compliment, but not before she pried his mouth open and inspected it, “Relatively sharp teeth too.”

Again Po was about to take the compliment before she interrupted, “Though I believe I’ve seen rocks with better agility than you possess.”

He laughed nervously, “Heh heh, yeah… Rocks…” He felt just like those embarrassing times where he had been bullied at school.

Wing dragged him outside so they could start with the training. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Su running and jumping around the property while setting up traps. 

“Listen fluffbut, there is one rule you must always abide by in combat: NEVER fight fair, especially when you are at a disadvantage.Your best chance is to go for someone’s weak spots. Such as the eyes.” She explained while poking him in his corneas.

Before he could even complain she continued, “The neck” To which she scissor pawed his trachea, the sheer force causing him to gasp for air and clutch his windpipe. 

“And the best one of all…” She smiled as she kicked him hard on the groin.

“Ow…” He moaned in an oddly higher toned voice than before. 

If this was anything to go by, he was going to very quickly regret having ever asked anything from these crazy cats. However, as an afterthought he realized the other areas didn’t hurt as much as he thought. Maybe it was his flab, or maybe it was something else. Whatever the reason, he rose much more quickly than anyone would expect.

Wan had been observing attently since her deranged sister had begun tormenting the Panda. She was impressed with his oddly high tolerance to pain or discomfort. “I believe we can add resilience to his advantage list.” She explained with her arms folded. “Sister, you can go a bit harder on him, I’d like to see just how strong he is.”

In spite of the fear he felt at hearing them speak, Po was determined to succeed. Up until this point he’d lived his life wishing he could be like his Idols (Namely Mistress Tigress) and learn martial arts. He wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass up. So instead of running away as his common sense had begged, he did as told and prepared himself.

Wing laughed, happy to at last get some action out of this even if it was a milder version of her usual fights. To give him some leverage she went to his face first, her fist flying at a decent speed.

And it was blocked, Po had in fact deflected the blow, sure it wasn’t a fast reflex at all but it had worked. Wing smiled knowingly, she hadn’t seen this coming, “You’ve done this before haven’t you? It appears you aren’t hopeless after all.”

He nodded, “I used to take Kung Fu lessons at the community center close to home as a kid. Didn’t make it very far though, the teacher said I didn’t have the right body type for it.” 

He looked up as if recovering some lost sense of bravery, “Recently I had some pointers from Mistress Tigress, she said to always cover your left because with most fighters being right handed they generally strike with their right paw.” However, he had made yet another costly mistake and had lowered his guard. Allowing Wing to sneak up and land a rising kick on Po’s left knee. His leg bent inwards from the force and he fell in shock. Of course nothing had been broken or fractured, but it had hurt nonetheless.

“Well isn’t that precious?” She said with a mocking grin while she watched him fall. “Training or not, you’d be hopelessly outmatched by Tai Lung, or even his goons. What you lack, is THE INSTINCT!”

She shouted, adopting a menacing look as her pupils dilated and resembled those of a reptilian while she jumped up above him and attempted to land what would have been a killer blow under different circumstances. He screamed comically and turned his face away from the impact, barely dodging her huge strong paw as it collided with the floor.

The crazy feline began to laugh in a manner that would give Po the impression that she was literally insane. Which at this point, he figured could absolutely be true.

“You’re catching on! But let’s see how you do against two opponents! Wan!” She called, prompting the more reserved Sister who up until now had been observing to join her at her side.

Po groaned, he could barely deal with one of those crazy cats and now he had to fight two?! “Oh come on! I barely managed to stop one of you for killing me and now I have to fight you too?! Guys, I don't have that much experience in Kung Fu. I only took lessons for one year and got my tail kicked most of the time!”

“Do you want to know why you failed before?” Asked Wan, with her arms folded.

“Because my legs are shorter than my belly and I lack agility?” He answered with a slump.

“No. Your biology is not the problem. The problem is that you do not believe in yourself. A successful fighter is always confident, otherwise their opponent has already won.” Wan stated factually.

“I mean, you could have just said that he's a pussy who has no fighting talent…” Wing whispered back to her.

Wan merely rolled her eyes at her Sister's remarks.

“I heard that.” Said Po drily while crossing his arms. “But it doesn't matter if I can or can’t fight or if I have the ‘confidence’ of doing so, Tai Lung might be coming my way and I have to learn how to defend myself so at least I don’t go down without a fight.” He then ran his paws over his face, exasperated at the hopelessness of the situation.

"Precisely, which is why Wing and I are going to turn you into a capable warrior before they get the chance." Wan replied, though not rough, her tone was stern and commanding.

“Yeah! So get your ass ready! Because we aren’t here to waste time!” Wing added.

He briefly thought about Tigress, according to the news report she had been found already dead in her apartment. He realized she’d died alone while the one responsible did not give a care in the world.

He also thought of his dad. If Po wasn’t off limits, his father sure wasn’t either, if he were to fall his dad would be next. He realized he couldn't just fight. He had to win.

Taking a defensive stance, he looked at them with fierce determination, “Bring it on ladies, we don't have much time.”

“There it is. THAT’S the confidence we’re looking for!” Wing shouted while again laughing as she and Wan prepared to go on the offensive.

Po stuck his feet firmly into the ground, waiting for the attack.

The two sisters split their attack up on both sides of the Panda, they purposely held back, knowing that there couldn’t be a way for him to fend them both off yet.

“High!” Shouted Wing, attacking from his left. He barely managed to block her blow but still felt the pain as her leg hit his arm. Only a second after, “Mid!” Shouted Wan from the right. He had been too busy blocking the left to protect his right so the blow collided, air left his lungs as he wheezed in pain.

Po fell to the floor gasping and groaning. Wing got exasperated at how wimpy this panda was so she dropped a hard kick to his belly to make him get up, sure it would not be a fatal blow but it should have forced him to move. To her shock the fat panda just stayed there, hitting him in the abdomen merely made his fat jiggle but otherwise causing little to no harm. “Ow” He moaned more annoyed than in pain. Wing saw it as a personal insult that he hadn’t reacted the way she expected him to.

“The hell? Your gut is like a damn trampoline!” She exclaimed as she removed her foot and scratched her head in confusion. Wing suddenly got an idea, she jumped with full force right over his belly and sure enough, she was lifted several feet in the air as she bounced.

Annoyed that he was being used as a toy he turned around and got up slowly  
Wan remained in thought, taking into account the events and judging the Panda's strange ability.

“It seems this could actually be beneficial. Panda, could you come here for a moment?” She ordered as he had just risen.

Po didn't want to come close to any of those psycho cats, but against his better judgement he did as told and begrudgingly stood in front of her while still avoiding eye contact.

Wan stroked her chin, while examining his anatomy carefully once more. Time seemed to pass slowly at the awkward silence while she merely observed him, he wondered what the holdup was and was about to ask, before the words were taken straight out of his mouth as she landed a hard double pawed punch on his gut in a split second.

Just as fast as she’d struck him though, his belly seemed to almost absorb the blow and then forced him to redirect the energy to his arms, sending them flying straight at her and knocking her flying forward.

She stumbled across the lawn some fifty yards away, only stopping when she collided with a shed near a cedar hedge.

“Woooa… That was awesome!” He said happily as he threw his fist in the air and made a little victory dance on the now slightly damaged grass.

“What the fuck.” Wing stated in shock as she looked at the trail that Wan had unintentionally created with her momentum, even Po worried a little bit when he saw how far she had been pushed back so he followed the trail.

Before he could ask he heard a shaky voice coming from that direction, “I’m fine…” Her sister shouted from inside the shed, stumbling out after the force of the impact.

“This is great, let’s do it again! Now wait until Tai Lung gets here, he's gonna feel the thunda!” The panda stated victoriously. Soon his family would be safe from that jerk!

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Panda. Tai Lung isn’t going to fall for that so easily. Besides, there are plenty more things to learn.” Wing corrected, knowing that blind arrogance would not help against an opponent of Tai Lung’s caliber.

“Okay then, bring it on! We got a lot to learn and practice!” He said excitedly while his feet gave little jumps with agility that should not have been possible for such a large animal.

She chuckled and face palmed, “Okay. I think instead of directly attacking you I’m going to teach you some offensive techniques of your own. After all, offense is the best defense.”

Po nodded enthusiastically with a wide grin.  
“Follow me. We need to find something that'll be of use.” She stated, leading him into the basement of the building.

He did as told without even bothering to hide his excitement, “This is great, what are we looking for? A non conventional weapon? Are you going to teach me to kill someone with a pencil?!” As time passed his blabbering became faster and higher in pitch.

“No. None of the above. Before you can learn to use a knife, you must first realize that you are your own best weapon.” Wing added, leading him into a huge underground gym, probably where Tigress used to train whenever she visited. Inside were sandbags, training dummies, and several stacks of wooden boards.

Wan, who had just caught up with the two after having recovered, continued, “Wing is right. There is no point learning to use a weapon before your basic technique is ready. We each saw how powerful you were earlier, but I want to know whether that was luck or perhaps some hidden power. Strike that sandbag.” Wan ordered.

“Okay” Said Po as he pretended the sandbag was Tai Lung “This is for hurting my friend!” He threw a strong punch at the bag and sure enough, it was thrown backwards quite far. But the huge kinetic energy was absorbed by the object and it bounced right back to him which he clearly did not foresee. The force hurled him several feet in the air as he landed on top of Wan accidentally.

The crushed feline gasped. If being knocked across the garden hadn’t been bad enough, being squashed underneath a four hundred pound animal all the while Wing laughed hysterically was more than she was willing to take.

Regardless, she was very tough and got up soon after pushing him aside, if only to salvage what was left of her pride.

“He he… Whoops” Po said embarrassed as he got off.

“So. What did you observe, Wan?” Wing stated, prompting her sister to glare at her menacingly and making her laugh again.

After Wing quieted down, Wan regained a semblance of poise and stated “It seems you have much more strength than we presumed at first. This is most likely due to your powerful emotions.”

“Wan’s right. Your dead kitty friend has given you strength you might not have had before. This will be very good.” Wing added.

He shrugged, he was aware of how his feelings were getting away with him, but he had trouble facing them. Having a stranger pointing it out made him feel exposed. He didn’t want to admit what everyone else was clearly noticing, that he cared too much over someone he realistically had barely met and would never get a chance to see again regardless. If anything, the hopelessness of that scenario enraged him more than he dared to admit. “Well yeah… She was a good friend I guess. I…” He paused for a second, sighing, “I miss her.”

“Do you, now? Well I wonder if she would ever miss you… Or if she even thought about you before she died a gruesome death? Nah, doubtful. It’s unlikely she gave a rat’s ass what happened to a lazy sack of shit like yourself.” Wing stated, having just completely changed the ambiance in the room from camaraderie to hostile.

“I know she didn’t care about me very much. I was nothing but her toy!” He vented, coming off as angry and outraged, not noticing he had fallen right into Wing’s game. 

“But I’ve always admired her ever since I saw her in that tournament. It doesn’t matter if she loved me or not. The worst thing is that she’ll never get the chance to love anyone. I’ll never have the chance to hang out with her and be by her side, even as a friend.” 

“Or sex toy, or whatever I was to her…” Too late. He realized he had broken his promise during his outburst. The one thing she had asked of him.

Wing shook her head and rolled her eyes, the only thing that surprised her was that the wealthiest woman in China would choose this lump of fluff as her consort. “Oh yes, let’s not forget what a filthy slut she was. I’m pretty sure she had tons of other dicks lining up at her door but none were enough to satisfy her, to her you were just another nudge in her bedpost, nothing special at all. What a shame…”

Without any warning his huge paw rammed Wing and stuck her to the wall, then lifted her upwards. It was so fast not even a seasoned warrior like her could have seen it coming. Deep radioactive green eyes inflamed with rage pierced straight into hers, “Take that back! And don’t you dare say anything like that about her to me or anyone else, ever again, is that clear?” His voice didn’t sound like his own, it was a deep bear growl.

She coughed out a droplet of blood but then oddly started to laugh again, “See? You are strong after all! All it took was a bit of ‘motivation’... I was only testing you Panda. Don’t worry about it.”

He didn’t care if this was a test from his trainers or not, his rage couldn't be switched off. “You’re gonna give your word to keep this a secret!”

“Relax, a hidden lover is the least scandalous of the secrets we have learned over the years, especially when it comes to the wealthy. We are not cheap, and part of our price comes from our discretion. Of course we will keep quiet.” Wan stated plainly, and with a very gentle paw she disentangled Po’s iron grip from her sister’s throat.

He calmed somewhat but deep inside of him was a rage that managed to scare even him. “I’m sorry ladies, but I think I need some rest after this session.” He said and then climbed the stairs back up.

“Giving up already?” Wan taunted.

“Let him go Wan, he needs to cool off before he hurts himself. I’ve that look before. He has what it takes.” Wing said while she licked the blood from her lips with a confident smirk, “I’m beginning to see what Miss Tigress saw in him.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Watching the news was the least he could do to get his mind off this predicament. As soon as he made it to the large living room he saw his father crying in front of the TV. The large screen showed in vivid detail how his family noodle shop and the entire neighborhood had been engulfed in a massive fire, seemingly caused by a freak accident. Or at least that’s what the media claimed.

Yet Su saw the way the fire spread, she knew undoubtedly what that fire expansion pattern meant. To any trained eye there were clear signs of an accelerant being used, “I’d bet my tail that the mafia was involved with this.”

“Is he coming after me already?” Po asked, worried that all this carnage was his fault.

“Probably not. Your district has tons of commercial activity and is close to the docks, I’m sure it’s a strategic place to begin his reign of terror. For now I think your shop is merely collateral damage.” Su explained casually.

As Po consoled his father, the rage leftover from his training invaded him. This really crossed the line.

“Tell me Su, are you ready with your defense?” Po asked numbly, his eyes lost on the TV screen while he kept his father close.

“Yes.” She said suspiciously.

“Great, get ready then because I have a plan and we need to start it now, before more animals get hurt.”

Su was about to tell that panda to remain hidden if he wanted at least a chance for survival but Wing knew madness and chaos when she saw it and his eyes were brimming with that. 

The last time she’d seen anger of this caliber there had been a massacre and a huge retribution that set fire to an entire village, she felt nostalgic about it already. So instead she jumped and exclaimed happily, “Hell yes! Get ready sisters, this is gonna be so much fun!”


	5. Compromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Priya's apparent 'death' is mourned, Shifu comes up with a plan to keep the others safe. Or at least safe for a little longer. That is until he is approached by someone willing to help.

Chapter 5

Compromised

The five had been locked up in the main quarters along with Shifu, not a single animal in the building was happy about the situation.

“Why are we here? we can’t keep risking our lives for Shifu.” Mantis ranted.

“He taught us all we know.” Crane replied patiently.

“It’s not him we’re protecting and you know it.” 

Viper was determined. As Tigress’ closest friend and second in command she had been unofficially declared the new leader of the group. And the position was already weighting on her shoulders.

When Priya first became the CEO, the rest of the five lamented on how she had gone from a sweet wide eyed girl to imitating Shifu’s harsh and cold demeanor overnight. Now that viper took that position she understood why, leaders rarely get to express their more carefree side, especially during a crisis such as this.

“What if we get attacked? We know Shifu is the one Tai Lung wants, but if we get in his way he might kill us as well.” Monkey asked the group but was clearly directing it towards Viper.

“We do know how to defend ourselves.” Crane answered determined.

“Yeah but let’s face it if Tigress couldn’t beat him we don’t really stand a chance.” Mantis ranted while staring at the windows, now impeded by steel shutters.

Viper stretched taller over the group, her green eyes showed fierce determination as her face turned stiff in an angry scowl. “Shifu made his bed, he must now lay in it. If an attack comes our main priority is to protect Tigress, if Tai lung goes after him then he’ll get what he wants and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be safe from the crossfire.”

“That’s a good plan.” Shifu confirmed while entering the room unannounced. It was evident he’d been listening to the entire conversation.

Viper did not shy away from her words or the decision she’d made, she had long ago made the choice of advocating for tigress to take over the company, it would be a fresh start from Shifu’s damaging secrets. She was also visibly angry at the red panda for being indirectly responsible for her friend’s current condition.

“I suggest you stay hidden in the lower floors, you will be the last line of defense should Tai Lung manage to pass me.” With that he turned away and left the room

The five did as told and headed downstairs, deep below the large building complex. Hidden in the lowest level, was a gigantic panic room that had been transformed into a state of the art infirmary where Tigress was taken directly after surgery. She had been successfully treated in the hospital but Shifu knew it would be way too dangerous to have her exposed in a public area. This option was the best to ensure her recovery. He’d done it in the past as well, only once.

He knew full well that his disciples would despise him for the mistake he made so long ago, but it did not matter. They couldn’t loathe him more than he did himself. Oogway had warned him that the most horrible things could come out of good intentions, forty years ago all he had wanted was to protect his son, he never thought that would harm his daughter in the process.

In spite of wanting nothing but some time alone to meditate and reflect about the situation, it did not take long before the patriarch was visited by several of his closest security agents. They had not been summoned which could only mean one thing.

“This is nothing personal sir.” One stated while they both brought their pistols up and aimed at their former employer.

He sighed, “You disgrace yourselves.” The small mammal stated, not even turning to face them.

The agents nodded to one another and approached carefully. Once within just a meter of him, they turned the safety off and prepared to fire.

Shifu’s heart rate went silent for a moment as he breathed in. He could hear every single thing in the room within a millisecond, he heard the heartbeats of the Rhino’s behind him, the sound of the ceiling fan, and even their breath. The moment he heard a small ‘click’ sound he instantly jumped up to avoid the shots of his former agents.

The bullets made contact with the ground just below where he’d been. While in the air the Rhino’s fired off more panic shots at him all of which missed as well. Once he landed he sped behind one of the agents and kicked the large mammal’s feet out from under him. The other attempted to shoot him, but Shifu’s reflexes were so good that he skillfully weaved past the shots. While the other tried to regain his footing, Shifu disarmed him and punched the pistol out of his hand.

He then proceeded to twist the Rhino’s wrist while the other was reloading. He yelled in agony from the strain, “SHOOT HIM DAMNIT!!”

The other then proceeded to unload his gun on the small mammal while also trying to avoid hitting his partner. It was no use however, as Shifu’s speed was far too great to land even a single hit. The Red Panda dodged each shot with precise movements while making his way to the other Rhino. Once within range he jumped above the other and landed directly behind him. He was so fast in fact that the Rhino hadn’t even seen where he’d gone. “Where is he!?” He shouted, scanning the room with his pistol up and ready to fire.

As he said this, the other managed to get up even with his dislocated wrist. He picked up his gun with his non-dominant hand and also looked around for his former employer. As if by luck, the wounded Rhino spotted Shifu behind his partner, “There!”

He fired off multiple shots through the legs of his partner to try to hit him but missed each time. “Watch where you’re shooting!” The other one shouted.

While the Rhino was distracted Shifu managed to climb up his back and onto the large mammal’s shoulder.

“Hold still!” The wounded one said as he aimed at the target.

“Wait no!” Due to his lack of coordination, the wounded Rhino accidentally shot his partner straight in the shoulder.

“Arghhhhhh” The Rhino yelped as he held his hand up to the bullet wound.

“Son of a bitch!” The one with the dislocated wrist yelled while trying to shoot Shifu who now dropped to the floor behind the shot Rhino.

Again the Rhino with the dislocated wrist made a critical error and accidentally shot his partner in the shin, making him fall to the ground and yell even louder in agony.

However after shooting fifteen rounds he was completely out, and Shifu wasted no time in landing a crushing blow to his face. Once his opponent was down, Shifu sighed. If the animals this high up in his command had been compromised there truly was no one he could trust.

Distracting him through was the shot Rhino who yelled in agony as blood gushed out his leg and shoulder. “Pathetic.” Shifu stated while walking towards the door. But before he could leave, the door slid open and in flew a small object.

“Oh shit-”

He bolted towards the body of the unconscious Rhino and hid behind it.

Without a moment to lose the object exploded and sent shards of shrapnel everywhere, nearly obliterating the corpse and even hitting the other Rhino who yelled even more from his multiple fleshwounds.

Shifu coughed as he got up. The grenade’s explosion had been so large it had set off the fire alarm and caused the sprinkler system to activate and the lights to turn off.

“BREACH!” Shouted a voice from outside. And before he knew it the door was blown clean off its hinges with eight more animals entering. They wore heavy armour, gas masks, and carried automatic weapons. Even the Beijing SWAT units were under the payroll of the mafia it seemed.

“Drop him!” Said the Sergeant as they prepared to open fire on the weary Red Panda.

Though he was weakened, he wasn’t yet out of the fight. He knew he couldn’t take on all these highly trained and geared animals at once. He needed to make a quick escape, and he knew just the way to do it. Once again he used his incredible speed to bolt towards one of the ventilation shafts, kicked the hatch off and climbed in, effectively avoiding the barrage of bullets from the Police.

Though the SWAT team was far too large to follow him, he knew he wasn’t in the clear yet. He could hear them attempt to shoot him through the walls of the building but with no success. “Don’t give me excuses! Smoke him out and station three officers at every vent exit. Move it!” Said the Sergeant from the other side of the vent.

Within a moment Shifu heard several loud ‘plops’ from both of his sides. They were using tear gas. Not an uncommon method, nor an ineffective one. If they weren’t trying to kill him he’d be proud. But Shifu was no ordinary animal. Before heading into the gassy substance he took as much air in as he could.

His best chance was to disable the power to the building and make his escape. He knew he couldn’t stop the SWAT police, but if he could at least lure them away from his daughter then that would have to do. He made his way towards the generator room, holding his breath and keeping his eyes closed as much as he could. The gas was now starting to feel corrosive on his eyes as he crawled through, but it would take more than this to put a seasoned Kung Fu teacher like himself down.

After a good several minutes he managed to find his way to the generator room located near the basement. Just like the Sergeant had said earlier there were three SWAT officers in the room scanning every direction. He’d have to stealthily take them all out without alerting anyone else. While still holding his breath, he quietly opened the vent hatch and climbed out, holding onto the ceiling with one paw and placing the hatch back with the other.

Just as he was about to take out one of the officers, the three animals touched their ears for a moment. He held off, thinking that they might have heard him. He was about to head back in the vent before he heard a faint noise, “Major, three new targets have been spotted near the south wing! Move to intercept with extreme prejudice!”

Just like that, the one below him nodded to the other two and they left their post immediately to head to the south side of the building. ‘Three new targets?’ Shifu asked himself as he descended to the breaker room.

Regardless it was not his concern. It was most likely just some mercenaries trying to get in on the action. He couldn’t waste any time. He figured that even though they were gone they’d return quickly. He opened the breaker panel and began to flick every switch off, turning off the lights, air conditioning, and other appliances throughout the structure. He flicked all the switches but one. The breaker to the lowest levels of the complex.

The lights in the generator room remained on, so he would have to leave quickly before they’d find him.. He made his way to the door of the room to make his escape, but was then greeted by the sounds of up to 20 officers loading their guns.

Shit. It was a trap.

“You didn’t think we’d leave the generator room unguarded did you?” The Sergeant mocked.

“It wouldn’t be the first time you’d disappointed me today.” He retorted.

The Sergeant rolled his eyes, “So here’s the deal. Tai Lung previously wanted you dead, however, he is now issuing a five million dollar bounty for you to be brought to him alive, but he’ll still pay handsomely if we bring you in with a hole in your brain. So the decision is yours. Either we gun you down, or you come quietly and maybe he’ll be merciful.”

Shifu was even more disappointed now, “Only five million? What a joke.” He mused, not backing down from their threat.

The bull Sergeant huffed a bit of steam, “This is your last chance. You have 5 seconds to comply.

“You already know my answer.” The Red Panda stated without a shred of fear in his eyes.

“Take him down!” The Sergeant ordered.

Within a moment, all 20 officers opened fire on him. However, like before he backflipped away and managed to weave through the barrage of speeding metal bullets. The officers were well trained but could hardly keep up with how fast he was, plus his smaller size compared to the larger species of the guards provided extra advantage. He was so fast in fact that he managed to run on the wall directly past them all and escape into the dark corridors.

“After him! We’re all dead if he gets away!” Ordered the Sergeant.

It was no use, he wasn’t going to get out of the building without beating all the SWAT units. He needed to take them all out. But it would be incredibly difficult with their greater gear and firepower.

The officers kept in hot pursuit of him, keeping their rifles up knowing that the small mammal could go on the offensive at any second. Due to his clever thinking however, they could not see him. “It’s no good! I can’t see shit!” Ranted one.

“Switch to infra-red! We’ll find him!” Said another. They then slid their thermal goggles on and began to scan around. Nearly the entire room was a dark indigo color, however, there were a few tiny footprints that shon a distinct red.

“This way!”

They followed the footprints into a larger room. It was the meeting room. The footprints continued for a while until they abruptly stopped. The officers were confused. They then looked up and saw a red object hanging from the ceiling. “He’s here!” One shouted as he rained fire on the ceiling, lighting up the room with the muzzle flash of his submachine gun.

Shifu dropped and quickly took him out but was then fired at by several others who’d seen him. He did his best to avoid the bullets, but the SWAT units were far too well geared and not a moment later a bullet grazed Shifu’s right hip. He fell to the floor holding his hip. This wasn’t good. He could barely stand, and there were 4 cops closing in on his position.

“End of the line, Sir.” One of them said, holding the weapon up to him. The cop used his headpiece, “I’ve got him. Send all units to my position now.”

The cop then took a pair of small paw cuffs and locked Shifu’s paws in place. Shifu struggled, but the bullet wound had left him nearly crippled and he was in no shape to take on any of these cops.

Within moments the power of the building was restored and the rest of the SWAT units arrived to apprehend him. “Good job major.” The Sergeant commended.

“You only cuffed his paws?” The sergeant asked with a raised brow. 

“Was it not enough?”

“Cuff his feet too. We’re not going to take any chances with this one.”

It was over. Tai Lung was going to take complete control over the company and take his life along with it. He’d failed.

As the cops dragged him along he hoped that the time he’d bought his apprentices had at least given them a fighting chance. But before he could mope any longer he heard a sudden sharp sound.

A cop beside him fell to the floor with a knife through his back.

All of a sudden the others turned to face the culprit. A small Snow Leopardess wearing a very expensive suit while twirling another knife around as if it were a pencil. Her distinct left eye was what truly set her apart as it was a completely different color to her other.

“Freeze! Or we will shoot!” Said the sergeant while his men held up their weapons to the new threat.

Instead of backing down, however, the Leopardess laughed maniacally, “Am I supposed to be threatened? Do you not know who I am?” She said while exposing her fangs and using her knife almost as a toothpick.

“I know very well who you are. And I’m not going to ask you a second time. Take her down!”

But before the cops could shoot, several more sharp sounds came from either side with several more bodies hitting the floor. “Don’t worry love, when we’re done with you, you’ll never need to ask for anything again. Except maybe your life.”

Before they knew it the Cops were surrounded by several other Leopardess’ each wearing identical clothing but with one wearing a face mask and the other wearing a fukumen disguising her forehead. They each held several primitive weapons in their paws known as Wind and Fire Rings.

Before the cops could even react, the three felines charged them. Slicing them up like vegetables on a cutting board. Adding on to the assault was a large Panda who stormed them like a rolling barrel. His sheer mass knocked the group of SWAT units onto their backs for the Leopardess’ to finish them off.

It took less than a minute for them to dispose of nearly every officer. The last one remaining being the Sergeant. He had multiple stab wounds and could not stand. He crawled back to get away but was stopped when one of the Felines stepped on his shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

“You think you’ll get away with this!? Tai Lung will have your heads nailed to a wall in less than a day!”

“I’m counting on it.” Answered Su with a grin.

“Speaking of which, where is he? Choose your next words wisely as you only have so many fingers we can remove.” She stated, holding her knife an inch up from the Sergeant’s paw.

Po, who had been too busy being happy with his performance now noticed what his bodyguards were doing. “Wait, guys, he’s beaten. There’s no need to-”

“Shhhhhhhhh” Answered Wing who placed a finger over his mouth to silence him.

“He’d kill me if I were to reveal his location.” Answered the cop, who’s heart rate began to rise.

“And you think I won’t?” Countered Su.

She took her knife and grazed it against his paw, cutting a bit of fur off. “Alright! He’s at-” Before they knew it, an ear piercing sound echoed through the room and the Cop’s head was blown clean off, splatting blood and brain matter everywhere in the room.

“SNIPER!” Su yelled, prompting everyone in the room to head for cover.

After staying down for several minutes, Su snuck over to the window where the shot had come from. She peeked through the opening but could not see anyone.

Po who had been scared senseless asked, “Is it safe?”

“If they’d wanted to kill us they would have.” Su answered with an unamused expression.

He took solace knowing he was somewhat safe but turned his attention back to her. “So what now?”

“Now you do what you came here for.” The Leopardess stated, folding her arms.

“Oh ya! That’s right!”

He turned to the Red Panda who had watched the entire scene unfold without being able to make any sense out of it.

“Umm, you’re Shifu right? The guy who owns this company?” Po asked as he bent down a bit to talk to the smaller animal.

“I was. And who might you be?” The small mammal replied skeptically.

“Yeah well… Uh if I told you, I don’t think you’d believe me. I was friends with Mistress Tigress.” Po replied, scratching the top of his head.

“Priya? Priya never had any friends.” Shifu answered bluntly.

Po was surprised. Or perhaps he shouldn’t have been. From what Mistress Tigress had told him, her father was a real piece of work and she had told him how lonely she really felt. He let the wave of pity and sadness wash over him for a second, knowing she died without ever realizing she had made a friend, but shook it off after an instant knowing that there was no time to waste. “Well she did. And I’m here to help!” He answered confidently.

“Ahem.”

“Ah yes! We’re here to help.” He corrected himself after hearing Su clear her throat.

The red panda was shocked after hearing his recluse daughter had in fact made such a strange group of friends, but he sure couldn't afford to deny their help.

"Very well panda, we must get going then"


End file.
